The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initiated enforcement action against Air India after discovering that an aircraft was operating with an overdue inspection of its emergency slide, raising fresh concerns over regulatory lapses in civil aviation safety.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday that the aircraft was grounded immediately once the discrepancy was found. “DGCA has initiated enforcement action against Air India and the responsible personnel as per Enforcement Policy and Procedure Manual of DGCA,” the minister said in a written reply.
The revelation came in response to a question by DMK MP Tiruchi Siva, who raised alarm over whether the national carrier had operated aircraft in violation of mandatory safety norms in the weeks preceding the fatal crash of Flight AI 171 on 12 June. The flight, a Boeing 787-8 en route to London Gatwick, crashed into a building shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, claiming 260 lives.
Specific dates regarding the DGCA audit or the initiation of enforcement action were not provided in the minister’s reply. However, the incident has added to the growing scrutiny of Air India’s maintenance protocols and the DGCA’s oversight mechanisms.
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Mohol stated that DGCA officials routinely conduct surveillance, spot checks, and night inspections to ensure airline compliance with safety norms. “In case of violation, DGCA takes enforcement action in accordance with procedures prescribed in Enforcement Policy and Procedure Manual,” he said.
The minister added that enforcement actions could include warnings, suspensions, cancellations, or financial penalties against the airline or its personnel. “DGCA officials are well trained to perform the oversight and enforcement function,” he noted.
The aviation regulator has recently flagged multiple operational and maintenance lapses involving Air India. The overdue emergency slide inspection adds to a series of regulatory red flags that have emerged since the June crash, one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent years involving an Indian carrier.
While the government has yet to publicly address whether internal accountability mechanisms within DGCA are being examined, Siva’s question on regulatory oversight failure signals growing political pressure to investigate both the airline and the regulator's role more thoroughly.
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