Air India Under Pressure

Air India is continuing to face pressure from its local governing regulator amid scrutiny following the fatal crash of a 787.

Much of the recent scrutiny has focused on Air India’s budget carrier, Air India Express, after it was reprimanded for failing to replace engine parts on an Airbus A320 promptly.

The decision not to conduct this on time followed directions from the European Union’s aviation safety agency, which serves as a key global regulator and ensures the highest standards of safety worldwide.

Moreover, there has been scrutiny for the falsifying of records to show compliance, which follows a government memo that was shared and aired through exclusive reports by Reuters.

The budget carrier stated that it was aware of an error and had communicated this to the Indian watchdog, confirming that remedial action had been taken alongside preventative measures to ensure the issue doesn’t recur.

Not Isolated For Air India

While focus rests on the failure to replace engine parts on the A320 earlier this year, this is not an isolated issue.

It was also found that the regulator has warned Air India for breaching rules concerning flying three of its Airbus aircraft with overdue checks on the escape slides.

These overdue checks were found as recently as June, but also revealed serious violations of pilot duty timings.

Investigations are still taking place on the fatal accident involving a 787, and while therefore a cause has not been officially broadcasted the Indian flag-carrier is naturally under a fine microscope by many.

What this means is previous violations that may have been uncovered while frustrating and will attract attention would not have seen such a strong focused placed had a fatal accident not put the flag-carrier in the limelight.

These string of latest findings also come at a point where Air India is heavily engaged in turnaround efforts which are seeing tens of billions put into the airline in a bid to see it return to its once esteemed status.

The concerns to the upkeeping of its fleet are things that must come to a close, especially given the maintenance of the jets should be a priority for any airline no matter the scale, and especially for one of the stature of Air India.