Aviation Safety

The pilot-in-command of an Air India flight that experienced a sudden loss of altitude during a Phuket-Delhi flight has undergone confirmatory testing after an initial psychoactive substance screening indicated a result requiring further analysis, the Civil Aviation Ministry said on Sunday. The Airbus A320, operating flight AI2379 from Phuket to Delhi on August 4, lost about 300 feet of altitude during cruise before stabilising and landing safely in Delhi. A few passengers and cabin crew members reported injuries during the incident. The aircraft was carrying 137 passengers, including three infants, and eight crew members. Both flight crew members underwent mandatory psychoactive substance screening following the incident, as required under standard operating procedures. The pilot-in-command's sample was sent to a designated laboratory for confirmatory analysis, with the final report awaited, the ministry said in a statement. The incident has been classified as a serious incident a

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said the final report on the AI171 crash will be released only after completing all investigative activities and international review processes

Smoke was detected inside an IndiGo A320neo aircraft while taxiing for departure to Chennai, prompting an emergency evacuation at Bengaluru airport

DGCA officials will oversee inspections of fuel control switches on an Air India Boeing 787-8 at Boeing's US facility after abnormal switch behaviour was reported earlier

Swiss International Air Lines flight to Zurich aborts take-off after engine fire in Delhi; passengers evacuated safely, five injured, airport operations unaffected

The aviation regulator has issued stricter norms for VVIP flights, directing pilots to prioritise safety, resist undue pressure and follow enhanced operational protocols

Parliamentary panel flags systemic failures, rising defects and staff shortages, urges Civil Aviation Ministry to conduct root-cause review within 90 days

Airline says precautionary re-inspections were carried out after a pilot's observation and that it will circulate Boeing's operating guidance to crew

Aviation regulator tells HC that weekly rest for pilots remains mandatory, with no airline granted exemptions, amid challenge to revised flight duty norms

Delhi High Court asks DGCA to clarify why new flight duty time norms were kept in abeyance, stressing that safety rules cannot remain unenforced without legal basis

Akasa Air has joined global airlines' grouping International Air Transport Association (IATA) as a member. IATA represents over 360 airlines, including Indian carriers Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo and SpiceJet. In a release on Friday, Akasa Air said it became an IATA member after completing IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) which is mandatory for the membership. "We are excited to welcome Akasa Air as an IATA member. India's aviation potential is huge, with the industry supporting 7.7 million jobs and USD 53.6 billion in economic contribution," Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific for IATA Sheldon Hee said. With a fleet of 31 Boeing 737 MAX planes. Akasa Air connects 26 domestic and 6 international cities. About the IATA membership, Akasa Air Founder and CEO Vinay Dubey said the association will strengthen the airline's global credibility and position it as a future-ready Indian airline on the world stage.

From aviation to finance, regulatory failures marked India's economy in 2025, exposing weak state capacity and the urgent need to redesign how regulators function

The case is related to proceedings before the High Court over the enforcement of flight duty time limitation (FDTL) standards, which are intended to address pilot fatigue and enhance flight safety

Recent Airbus A320 groundings and IndiGo flight disruptions have put India's fast-growing aviation sector under the spotlight, raising questions over fleet reliability and safety oversight

The meeting was attended by officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India, Central Industrial Security Force, airport operators, and airlines

The airline's 164-seater Airbus A320 aircraft, with an expired airworthiness review certificate (ARC), flew eight times on November 24 and 25

The suspected production flaw is delaying some deliveries but there are no immediate indications that it has reached aircraft in service, the sources said, asking not to be named

In a statement, the regulator said a total of 323 A320 family planes of IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express - which are "operational" - have been upgraded

Airbus has instructed airlines to quickly update software on nearly 6,000 A320 aircraft after a JetBlue incident linked to data errors caused by solar radiation

An Ahmedabad-bound Air India plane returned to the Delhi airport on Thursday evening due to suspected smoke in the cargo hold area, according to sources. After checks, the smoke indication was found to be false, the sources said. The Delhi-Ahmedabad flight AI2939, operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, had around 170 people onboard, they added. An airline official said the aircraft returned to Delhi shortly after take off due to a smoke indication, which was later found to be false after the aircraft underwent thorough precautionary checks. Following standard operating procedures, the aircraft landed in Delhi and the passengers and crew were disembarked safely, the official said. Passengers were later flown to Ahmedabad in another aircraft.