A recent government report presented in the Lok Sabha on Thursday disclosed that nearly 50% of the 754 aircraft audited across Indian airlines since January last year exhibited recurring technical defects. Air India Group and IndiGo accounted for the largest share of these flagged aircraft.
According to the data, 377 aircraft from six scheduled airlines were found to have repetitive issues. IndiGo, the airline with the highest number of aircraft reviewed, had 148 planes with recurring defects out of 405 examined as of February 3. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol informed the House that IndiGo’s figures represent a significant portion of its fleet.
Air India Group, which includes Air India and Air India Express, had a notably higher ratio of recurring defects. Out of 267 aircraft checked, 191 were flagged for issues that reappeared, representing nearly 72% of its fleet. Specifically, 137 of 166 Air India aircraft and 54 of 101 Air India Express planes showed repetitive problems.
Other airlines also featured on the list. SpiceJet had 16 aircraft with recurring issues out of 43 analyzed, while Akasa Air flagged 14 aircraft out of 32 reviewed.
In response to the figures, an Air India spokesperson stated that the airline conducted extensive checks across its fleet “out of an abundance of caution,” which contributed to the higher number of observations. A senior Air India executive clarified that most of these issues relate to lower-priority equipment, categorized under safety-irrelevant categories like seats, tray tables, and in-flight screens (Category D), which do not compromise aircraft safety.
The aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has increased its surveillance activities. Mohol noted that last year, the DGCA carried out 3,890 inspections, including 56 regulatory audits, 84 foreign aircraft checks (SOFA), and 492 ramp inspections. Additionally, 874 spot checks and 550 night inspections were conducted under unplanned surveillance.
Regarding staffing, the Minister revealed that DGCA’s sanctioned technical posts increased from 637 in 2022 to 1,063 after restructuring efforts aimed at addressing manpower gaps.