Air India Faces Safety Problems

Air India continues to face scrutiny over its safety following new developments.

The Junior Civil Aviation Minister Murlidhar Mohol, when speaking with lawmakers, confirmed Air India had received nine show cause notices in the last six months alone.

All notices, although lacking confirmation of their specific circumstances, were related to safety violations that occurred over the period, five in total.

Following these violations, enforcement action was taken in respect to one of the violations, as confirmed by Mohol; however, details on the specifics remain lacking.

All this comes as ongoing investigations take place on the fatal accident involving AI171 shortly after departing Ahemdebadb, which involved an Air India Boeing 787.

In the same inquiry, there were fresh updates on the state of the 787 Dreamliner, which included the inspection of a total of 33 aircraft; 31 jets were inspected, and the results showed that eight aircraft had minor findings.

Rectification work was then conducted on the Dreamliners, which allowed the planes to return to service; however, the Civil Aviation Minister, when responding to questions, stated that the remaining two jets are currently undergoing scheduled maintenance.

Some Of The Air India Concerns

While Air India’s fatal accident involving the 787 Dreamliner shares much of the spotlight, reports emerging in early July highlighted some of the other concerns that were present across the business, driven by what analysts judged as apparent negligence.

The airline, under intense scrutiny, saw its broader group affected, with Air India Express under pressure; in fact, it was reprimanded for failing to replace engine parts on an A320 in a timely manner.

The decision followed the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s determination that the directions provided did not carry the relevant emphasis they should have to maintain the type in the highest safety standard.

Exclusive reporting from Reuters then reveals further concerns about falsifying records to show compliance, as evident in a government memo shared with the publication.

Remedial action was confirmed to have taken place, with the airline acknowledging that it was aware of the issue and had communicated its findings to the Indian watchdog, rectifying the problem to ensure it does not recur.

Additionally, there was the emergence of the regulator warning Air India over a breach concerning the continued operation of three Airbus aircraft with overdue checks on the escape slides.

These findings, emerging in June 2025, also come with serious violations of pilot duty timings, adding to the lengthy list of concerns about the day-to-day operation of the business.

While analysts point to the heightened scrutiny of the Indian group at times such as these, which makes violations easier to pop up, and or get blown out of proportion, it doesn’t stop them from existing.

Furthermore, when Air India attempts to turnaround its image with tens of billions of dollars invested in the latest fleet and cabin products, there must also be improvements in the day-to-day operations and reliability of the airline’s standards, which seem to be lacking.