Indian Aviation Regulator Says ‘No Major Safety Concerns’ in Air India’s Boeing 787 Fleet

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The surveillance of Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet has not revealed "any major safety concerns" so far, Indian civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said Tuesday night. DGCA added that "the aircraft and associated maintenance systems were found to be compliant with existing safety standards."

Air India flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed shortly after take-off last week killing 241 of the 242 passengers and crew onboard. Post this India had ordered safety checks on the 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft last week.

At his first press briefing since the crash, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu made it clear that India maintains strong safety oversight mechanisms.

The airline has 26 Boeing 787-8 planes in its fleet. It also has seven Boeing 787-9s that were added through its merger with Vistara. These planes are an important part of Air India’s operations, used for long-haul journeys to Melbourne, Washington D.C., Tokyo, Nairobi, and most of Europe.

DGCA had asked Air India to conduct a one-time inspection of these planes before any departure from India, including checks on the aircraft’s engines, cabin air compressors, take-off parameters, and more.

In response to the DGCA order, Air India said on Saturday that it was conducting these checks on the fleet as they returned to India but before they were cleared for their next flight.

However, the safety checks are not yet complete. DGCA said that as of Tuesday afternoon, the required check was completed on 24 planes. It added that four aircraft were undergoing “major checks” at various maintenance-repair-operations (MRO) facilities.

The DGCA said on Tuesday that it held a high-level meeting with Air India and its low-cost arm Air India Express to review the “operational robustness” of the airlines.

During the meeting, DGCA said it asked Air India to make its internal coordination systems stronger and make adequate preparations to avoid delays due to the maintenance operations. This comes as multiple flights were delayed over the past few days due to these checks, including Delhi-Pune and Delhi-Zurich flights.

Air India in a post had already warned passengers of potential delays as a result of the checks, saying, "Some of these checks could lead to higher turnaround time and potential delays on certain long-haul routes especially those to airports with operating curfews."

The aviation watchdog also discussed the recent airspace closures over Iran, asking the airlines to ensure timely communication with passengers and crew regarding diversions, delays, and cancellations. It also asked Air India to adopt alternate routes to minimize disruptions.

It also recommended that Air India implement “a more systematic and real-time defect reporting mechanism to ensure that operational and safety-critical departments receive timely updates.”

DGCA also reviewed Air India’s wide-body operations since the crash, with specific focus on the B787 fleet.

According to the aviation regulator, between June 12 and June 17, Air India has cancelled 66 flights to be operated with Boeing 787.

On Monday, a Hong Kong-Delhi Air India flight made a mid-air return to Hong Kong as a precautionary measure nearly an hour after take-off. The captain of the flight suspected a technical issue and requested permission to return to Hong Kong International Airport.

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