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Parliament Panel Seeks CAG Audit of Air India as Report Flags Widespread Safety Gaps

Lawmakers say chronic defects expose weak oversight, warranting an independent safety review.

Overview

  • India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee urged the Civil Aviation Ministry to ask the national auditor, the CAG, to review Air India’s safety compliance from January 2022, when Tata took control.
  • An audit of 754 aircraft from January 2025 to February 2026 found 377 with repeat defects, with high counts at IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express.
  • A DGCA check on Air India in July 2025 logged about 100 lapses, including seven top-level violations, pilot training gaps on Boeing 787 and 777 jets, short cabin crews on some long routes, and overlong duty on a Milan–Delhi flight.
  • The committee proposed an independent high-level review with a 90‑day deadline, a real-time system linking the regulator, airlines and maintenance teams to track risks, and faster hiring to rebuild DGCA capacity.
  • It also pointed to recent enforcement, citing nine DGCA notices to Air India and a Rs 1 crore fine in February 2026 for operating an A320 without a valid airworthiness review certificate.