Air India Boeing 787 planes did not reveal any major safety concern, says DGCA after surveillance

Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Tuesday said that the aviation regulator reviewed the operations of Air India and Air India Express following the recent plane crash, and added that the recent surveillance of airline’s Boeing 787 planes did not reveal any major safety concern.

“Air India B787 aircraft, associated maintenance systems found to be compliant with existing safety standards,” said DGCA.

However, the aviation watchdog said that it has raised concerns over recent maintenance-related issues at Air India and directs airline to boost inter-department coordination.

DGCA stated that Air India has cancelled 66 flights to be operated with Boeing 787 between June 12 and June 17 after the Ahmedabad tragedy.

On maintenance of aircraft

—  The airline has been advised to strengthen internal coordination across engineering, operations, ground handling units and ensure availability of adequate spares to mitigate passenger delays resulting from such issues and strictly adhere to regulations.

Timely communication amid airspace closure

— Air India and Air India Express have been asked to ensure timely communication with passengers and crew and adopt alternate routing strategies to minimize disruptions. The impact of recent airspace closures, particularly over Iranian airspace, was reviewed. 

Operational Coordination:

—  The regulator recommended the implementation of a more systematic and real-time defect reporting mechanism to ensure that operational and safety-critical departments receive timely updates. This is expected to enhance overall decision-making and reduce downstream disruptions.