DGCA warned Air India for overdue safety inspections of 'critical emergency equipment' on Airbus jets: Report

India’s aviation regulator has warned Air India for violating safety protocols after three of its Airbus aircraft operated flights without mandatory checks on emergency equipment, and for taking an unreasonably long time to address the lapses, according to government documents reviewed by Reuters.

The warning notices and investigation report, issued days before last week's fatal crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 that killed all but one of the 242 people onboard, are unrelated to that incident.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) flagged the violations after spot checks in May revealed that three Air India Airbus aircraft were flying despite being overdue for inspections of escape slides, classified as “critical emergency equipment.”

In one case, an inspection of an Airbus A320 was delayed by over a month before finally being conducted on May 15. During this period, flight tracking data from AirNav Radar showed the aircraft operated international routes, including to Dubai, Riyadh, and Jeddah.

Another case involved an Airbus A319 on domestic routes, where the mandatory check was overdue by more than three months. A third aircraft was found to have missed the inspection deadline by two days.

“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 said in its report.

The regulator also noted that Air India “failed to submit timely compliance responses” to the deficiencies raised, further pointing to “weak procedural control and oversight.”

Air India, now owned by the Tata Group since 2022, responded in a statement saying it was “accelerating” verification of all maintenance records, including escape slide checks, and expected to complete the process soon. The airline clarified that in one instance, the issue came to light when an engineer from AI Engineering Services “inadvertently deployed an escape slide during maintenance.”

The aviation regulator and the airline is yet to respond to this.

Vibhuti Singh, a former legal expert at India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, stressed the seriousness of the issue, saying, “In case of accident, if they don’t open, it can lead to serious injuries.”

The DGCA noted that airworthiness certificates are considered “deemed suspended” for aircraft that miss such mandatory checks.