The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has reportedly raised concerns about safety lapses on Air India flights following surprise inspections at European airports. EASA reported multiple issues after the ratio of findings per inspection on Air India aircraft reached 1.96 in January. This led EASA to inform India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which increased scrutiny of the airline’s operations.
According to a report in The Economic Times, a ratio above 2 could affect Air India’s ability to operate in key European markets, with aircraft facing more inspections or operational bans. In response, DGCA took corrective measures to reduce the airline’s fault count and avoid restrictions. Since then, the finding ratio has decreased to 1.76 as of last week, according to a senior DGCA official.
Airlines with strong safety records usually maintain a ratio below 1.
A senior Air India official told the financial daily that the high number of findings is due to the airline’s ageing fleet. Delays in a $400 million refurbishment programme, started after the Tata Group took control, have been worsened by supply chain issues faced by global vendors.
The official said that “European standards are very high” and that a broken seat or a worn-out emergency marking are also recorded by EASA inspectors as violations.
EASA inspectors review about 54 safety parameters, including emergency exits, life jackets, crew licensing and operational documents to ensure compliance with international standards.
The report added that Air India’s ongoing engineering and reliability issues have led to the suspension of senior engineering staff and a show cause notice to CEO Campbell Wilson after several incidents, including unauthorised aircraft operations.
