EXCLUSIVE-Air India warned for flying Airbus planes with unchecked escape slides
Regulator warns Air India over delayed checks on three planes
*
The planes had unverified emergency equipment, regulator says
*
Some Air India aircraft also had outdated registration paperwork
*
Airline also facing fallout from recent plane crash in India
NEW DELHI, - India's aviation regulator has warned Air India for breaching safety rules after three of its Airbus planes flew despite being overdue checks on emergency equipment, and for being slow to address the issue, government documents show. The warning notices and an investigation report - both reviewed by Reuters - were not in any way related to last week's crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 plane that killed all but one of the 242 people onboard, and were sent days before that incident.
In the report, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said spot checks in May on three Air India Airbus planes found that they were operated despite mandatory inspections being overdue on the "critical emergency equipment" of escape slides.
In one case, the watchdog found that the inspection of an Airbus A320 jet was delayed by more than a month before being carried out on May 15. AirNav Radar data shows that during the delay the plane flew to international destinations such as Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah.
Another case, involving an Airbus A319 used on domestic routes, showed checks were over three months late, while a third showed an inspection was two days late.
"The above cases indicate that aircraft were operated with expired or unverified emergency equipment, which is a violation of standard airworthiness and safety requirements," the DGCA report said.
Air India "failed to submit timely compliance responses" to deficiencies raised by the DGCA, "further evidencing weak procedural control and oversight," it added.
Air India, which was taken over by the Tata Group in 2022 from the government, said in statement that it was "accelerating" verification of all maintenance records, including dates of the escape slides, and would complete the process in the coming days.
In one of the cases, Air India said, the issue came to light when an engineer from AI Engineering Services "inadvertently deployed an escape slide during maintenance".
The DGCA and Airbus did not respond to Reuters queries.
Checks on escape slides are "a very serious issue. In case of accident, if they don't open, it can lead to serious injuries," said Vibhuti Singh, a former legal expert at the government's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
The DGCA said in its report that the certificates of airworthiness for aircraft that miss mandatory checks were "deemed suspended".
The warning notices and the report were sent by Animesh Garg, a deputy director of airworthiness in the Indian government, to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson as well as the airline's continuing airworthiness manager, quality manager and head of planning, the documents showed.
An Indian aviation lawyer said such breaches typically attract monetary and civil penalties on both individual executives and the airline. Wilson told Reuters last year that global parts shortages were affecting most airlines, but the problem was "more acute" for Air India as its "product is obviously a lot more dated", with many planes not refreshed since they were delivered in 2010-2011.
'SYSTEMIC CONTROL FAILURE'
The Indian regulator, like many abroad, often fines airlines for compliance lapses. India's junior aviation minister in February told parliament that authorities had warned or fined airlines in 23 instances for safety violations last year.
Around half of them - 12 - involved Air India and Air India Express, including in one case for "unauthorised entry into cockpit". The biggest fine was $127,000 on Air India for "insufficient oxygen on board" during a flight to San Francisco. Last week's crash, the causes of which are still being investigated, will further challenge Air India's attempts to rebuild its image, after years of criticism from travellers for poor service. Air India's Chairman N. Chandrasekaran on Monday told staff the crash should be a catalyst to build a safer airline, urging employees to stay resolute amid any criticism.
In its report, the DGCA also said several Air India aircraft checked by officials had outdated registration paperwork. Air India told Reuters all but one aircraft complied with such requirements and this "poses no impact" to safety.
The DGCA investigation report pulled up the airline for what it described as "inadequate internal oversight."
"Despite prior notifications and identified deficiencies, the organization's internal quality and planning departments failed to implement effective corrective action, indicating systemic control failure," it said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
16 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Geopolitical tensions, regulatory issues led to over 5,700 flight cancellations for major Indian airlines in January-June
Over 5,700 flights of major Indian airlines had to be cancelled in the first six months of the 2025 due to geopolitical issues and regulatory problems, according to data shared by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Over the past few months, geopolitical tensions—including the four-day military conflagration between India and Pakistan in May and the Iran-Israel conflict—had led to disruptions for Indian airlines, including a super-normal level of flight cancellations. The closure of Pakistani airspace for Indian airlines is still in place, and continues to impact west-bound international flights of Indian airlines. A large number of domestic flights operating to and from sensitive airports in northern and western India were cancelled during Operation Sindoor in May as civilian aircraft operations at these airports—mostly defence airfields—were suspended during the conflict. The country's largest airline IndiGo—with 3,274 flight cancellations—accounted for around 57 per cent of the total cancellations in January-June, followed by the Air India group—Air India and Air India Express—with around 26 per cent, or 1,468 flight cancellations. With 401 flight cancellations, SpiceJet accounted for 7 per cent of the total cancellations during the six-month period, while Akasa Air accounted for 1.1 per cent with 64 flights cancelled. Government-owned regional airline Alliance Air had 499 cancellations, or 8.7 per cent of the total. In all, the 5,706 cancellations across IndiGo, Air India group, Akasa Air, SpiceJet, and Alliance Air accounted for 1 per cent of the total flights of these airlines in the January-June period. The total number of departures for these airlines in the first six months of the year stood at 5,72,079, the data showed. 'Airlines incur costs due to delays and cancellations, including additional fuel, crew overtime, maintenance, airport fees, and rebooking expenses. Further, Airlines are required to provide refunds or compensation to passengers for cancellations or significant delays. Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-June 2025 registered a growth of 7.34 % as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year,' Mohol stated in the written reply.
Indian Express
16 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Foreign liabilities of MFs rose 19.9% to $30.5 bn in 2024-25: RBI survey
Domestic mutual fund industry's foreign liabilities surged 19.9 per cent to $30.5 billion, in market value terms during financial year 2025, primarily driven by an increase in units issued to non-residents, a Reserve Bank of India survey showed. Among major countries, non-residents of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) held the largest share in mutual fund (MF) units, both in terms of face value (21.2 per cent) as well as at market value (20.2 per cent) during fiscal 2025. In face value terms, foreign liabilities in units of MFs held by non-residents of UAE increased by 32.8 per cent to Rs 3,305 crore in FY25, while in market value terms, they rose by 28 per cent to Rs 11,508 crore. The non-residents of other countries that own a large share of domestic MF units, in face value terms, include the United States of America (USA) – 11.2 per cent, the United Kingdom (UK) – 10.8, and Singapore – 6.6 per cent. The survey showed that overseas assets of MFs declined by 5.6 per cent and stood at $8.3 billion in March 2025, due to lower holdings of foreign equity securities. As a result, the net foreign liabilities of MFs increased to $22.2 billion in March 2025 from $16.6 billion a year ago. The findings are based on the RBI's survey of Foreign Liabilities and Assets of the Mutual Funds showed. The survey covered 45 Indian MFs and their Asset Management Companies (AMCs), which held or acquired foreign assets or liabilities during 2024-25 or in the preceding years. It showed that over 95 per cent of the overseas equity investment of domestic mutual funds (MFs) were concentrated in the USA (64.4 per cent), Luxembourg (19.7 per cent), and Ireland (11 per cent). Foreign liabilities of AMCs increased by 16.8 per cent and stood at $7.5 billion in March 2025, on the back of higher inward direct investment. Residents in Japan, Canada and the UK together accounted for over 83 per cent of FDI (foreign direct investment) among Indian AMCs.
Indian Express
16 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Supreme Court to hear plea on row between AIFF and FSDL over non-renewal of contracts of ISL clubs
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on August 22 a matter involving a row between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and FSDL over the fate of 11 Indian Super League (ISL) clubs due to the non-renewal of their contracts with the national federation and the tournament's organisers. The 11 ISL clubs have warned the AIFF that they 'face the real possibility of shutting down entirely' if the ongoing impasse regarding the future of the top-tier domestic competition is not resolved soon. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar agreed to hear the plea after amicus curiae and senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan submitted that during the tenure of the contract, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) has to honour it by conducting the ISL. 'If it does not, the AIFF should be directed to terminate the contract and float a tender. Otherwise the players suffer and after repeated non-payment, we can be sanctioned by the FIFA,' Sankaranarayanan said. The bench said it would hear the matter on Friday. The clubs wrote a letter to AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey last week, saying the crisis arising out of the non-renewal of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between the national federation and the ISL organisers, FSDL, has 'paralysed professional football in India'. 'Over the past 11 years, through sustained investment and coordinated effort, clubs have built youth development systems, training infrastructure, community outreach programmes and professional teams that have elevated India's footballing credibility both domestically and internationally,' the clubs wrote in the letter. 'This progress is now in imminent danger of collapse. The current standstill has created immediate and severe consequences. With operations suspended and no certainty on league continuity, several clubs face the real possibility of shutting down entirely,' they said. The crisis surfaced after FSDL, the ISL organisers as well as the AIFF's commercial partner, put the 2025-26 season 'on hold' on July 11 due to uncertainty over the renewal of the MRA, prompting at least three clubs to either pause first-team operations or suspend player and staff salaries. 'The 2025-26 ISL season is at risk of not taking place at all. This is not merely an administrative deadlock — it is an existential crisis for Indian football. We write to you in the gravest of circumstances,' the clubs wrote. The letter was signed by Bengaluru FC, Hyderabad FC, Odisha FC, Chennaiyin FC, Jamshedpur FC, FC Goa, Kerala Blasters FC, Punjab FC, NorthEast United FC, Mumbai City FC and Mohammedan Sporting. Kolkata heavyweights Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal did not sign the letter. The clubs said the impasse will also impact India's readiness for international matches, adding that 'without a functioning league, our national team will be severely disadvantaged in upcoming AFC and FIFA tournaments'. They also said that without the ISL, they will not be able to play a minimum number of competitive matches for participating in continental competitions, thereby risking the suspension of Indian clubs from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) tournaments. On April 30, the top court reserved its verdict on the issue of finalisation of the AIFF draft constitution prepared by former apex court judge L Nageswara Rao. The draft constitution, prepared by Justice Rao on the top court's directions, proposed some radical changes, including a person holding the office for a maximum period of 12 years during his lifetime, subject to serving a maximum of two successive terms of four years each. While it said a four-year cooling-off period had to be observed after eight years as an office-bearer of the AIFF, it also mentioned that a person cannot remain a member of the sports body after attaining 70 years of age. According to the draft constitution, the executive committee of the AIFF would have 14 members who would be under the age and tenure restrictions. There will be one president, two vice-presidents (a man and a woman), one treasurer and 10 other members, the draft said. Of the 10 other members, five would be eminent players, including two women. The draft constitution also has provisions for the removal of the office-bearers, including the president, through a no-confidence motion, which the existing constitution of the AIFF does not have.
