Aviation Chief Protects Security Report

How safe are India?

This is a question that many are asked after the destructive June Air India Crashwho died at least 270 people. The London Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner fell less than a minute after leaving Ahmedabad Airport to Western India on June 12.

“India’s sky has always been safe – in the past and even today,” said Faiz Ahmed Kidva, Chief of Civil Aviation CEO (DGCA) – in an interview with the BBC.

“If you look at global security indicators eg Published by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)The number of accidents of a million flights, India is invariably working better than the world average, ”he said.

“It was only two years in the period 2010-2024, when we exceeded the World War II – these were the years when major accidents occurred.”

In August 2020, Flight Air India Express 1344 crashed After the rain-powder lane in Kozhikod was thrown, 21 people were killed. A decade earlier, in May 2010, Flight 812 with Dubai Throwing the runway in the Mangalore and plunged into the gorge, leaving 158 dead. In June, the third such accident in the country became a plane crash in India for 15 years.

Although such major accidents remain rare, recent headlines have caused new problems. From the flight of Deli-Shrinar, who has been strongly turbulence, is growing reports on maintenance and lack of training, the issues around aviation safety are again in the focus.

The latter is provided by Spicejet, the fourth largest and the longest airline in India.

Economic time The newspaper found that the aviation regulator recently summoned the airline’s leadership after a number of alarming conclusions – not from ordinary audits, but from a British aviation firm.

The newspaper reported that it started earlier this year when two trouble cranes with the Spicejet de Havilland Q400 showed premature propeller’s failures. The airline warned Dowty propellers, a UK manufacturer under the guidance of GE Aerospace, who has found damage to the inner bearing a screw.

Each spiral suspension has two races, rings or traces. In this case, the internal race was damaged. Instead of referring to the root cause, Spicejet “, reportedly, continued to apply more lubrication to the (whole) block, rather than solve the root cause.” Disappointed by the lack of correctional actions, the debt develops directly to India’s aviation regulator, the newspaper reports.

In April, DGCA’s own audit “discovered even more disadvantages, including Snag,” the report said.

Mr -n Kidwai said the BBC that “the question propeller Turbop has addressed us through one of the Spicejet maintenance organizations.”

“We took it with Spicejet, and we guaranteed that they took corrective measures. We also found out that the top management did not fully realize the situation.

Most recently, Reuters It is reported that in March, the aviation watchman pronounced with the Air India budget carrier for delaying compulsory engines substitutes with Airbus A320 and falsification of records to show conservation.

Air India Express reported news news agency that she acknowledged the DGCA error and took “amendments and preventive measures”.

Mr. Kidwai said the BBC that the information in this case had passed through the “airline’s dedication”.

“I wouldn’t justify it (gaps). But (at least) we started receiving these reports. It happened with the airline. The action was taken in this case. In our audit we instructed our people to be more vigilant and see if there is some passage and bring it to us.”

In May, the Indigo flight from Delhi in Schrinar collided with serious turbulence and hail about 45 minutes after takeoff.

Airbus A321, which transported 222 passengers, collided with extreme vertical air streams – lifts, and then reduced decreases – which broke out overhead garbage and caused damage to the nose. The crew announced an emergency and landed safely in Srinaro without injuries. The regulator started an investigation during which Two pilots were grounded.

Mr -n Kidwai said the BBC that the regulator has now “clarified” its guidelines for pilots flying in violent conditions.

For example, if there is a significant cloud cover or some weather model that is at risk – and “we have clearly determined what the risk is,” the pilots should take certain actions, the number of marine miles before reaching it, he said.

“This may include distraction, treatment or take other appropriate steps.”

Since 2020, Indian domestic carriers have reported 2461 technical malfunctions, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Indigo made more than half (1288), followed by Spicejet with 633, and Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express with 389 cases as of January 2025.

“Reporting about Snags by Airlines has grown. That’s good,” Mr. Holk said.

“I wouldn’t say I am satisfied with this. But I see the value in the growing culture of reporting (snags). It is much better that every snag is brought to the attention of the authorities than to be silent and operated by the aircraft.”

Mr -n Kidwai said the number of flights is increasing, it is important to “see if the turning time is adequate to (maintenance) or not.”

Of course, the requirements for the regulator have grown: India became the third largest passenger aviation market in the world. However, over the past two years the Ministry of Civil Aviation has encountered budget cutsReflecting a reduced financial priority for the sector.

Today, nearly 850 aircraft are planned for the country’s carriers – a significant increase in about 400 just a decade ago.

The number of air passengers has doubled from 2014-15 – from 116 to 239 million.

The number of commercial airfields has also been observed significantly from 60-70 decades ago to almost 130-140 years.

“In total, including both planned and planned operators, we now have 1288 aircraft. By the end of the decade, we are supposed to operate over 2000 aircraft,” Mr Kidva said. (Not planned operators include charter airlines, private jet operators, air taxis and helicopter services.)

So was the last Air India crash interfered with the reputation of air travel in India? Mr -n Kidwai said the data did not point to it.

“We have considered the data to evaluate whether it had an impact on internal or international operations. There was no significant drop in traffic. In most cases, we observed a very marginal DIP for a short time, affecting both domestic and international flights, as well as several cancellations,” he said the BBC.

“Naturally, for people to feel anxious after such incidents. But over time, more clarity arises, and the situation is better clear that anxiety will usually fall. Time is a great sorcerer.”