Aviation Safety

Weak regulation hurt public policy in 2025; fixing it is 2026's big task

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

Updated On: 18 Dec 2025 | 10:06 PM IST

HC seeks DGCA, govt reply on pilot unions' contempt plea over fatigue norms

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

Updated On: 16 Dec 2025 | 7:20 PM IST

StatsGuru: A trinity of turbulence - Airbus, IndiGo and glitches

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

Updated On: 14 Dec 2025 | 5:22 PM IST

Naidu instructs DGCA, AAI on winter readiness amid peak travel rush

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

Updated On: 12 Dec 2025 | 2:23 PM IST

Air India execs who let plane with expired licence fly de-rostered: DGCA

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

Updated On: 02 Dec 2025 | 10:17 PM IST

Airbus faces new quality problem causing delays to several A320 deliveries

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

Updated On: 01 Dec 2025 | 9:53 PM IST

All airlines have updated their software on A320 family planes: DGCA

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

Updated On: 30 Nov 2025 | 11:11 PM IST

All about the Airbus A320 software glitch that sparked major recall

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

Updated On: 29 Nov 2025 | 6:03 PM IST

Ahmedabad-bound Air India flight returns to Delhi after false smoke alert

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.

Updated On: 28 Nov 2025 | 7:14 AM IST

Noida airport takes key step to launch with successful calibration flight

The first phase of the greenfield Noida International Airport is expected to be inaugurated soon, though an exact date has not been announced yet

Updated On: 31 Oct 2025 | 6:07 PM IST

FAA restores Boeing's ability to certify Max jets over 6 yrs after crashes

Boeing is getting back the ability to perform final safety inspections on 737 Max jetliners and certify the planes for flight more than six years after crashes of the then-new model killed 346 people, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday. The FAA said it decided to restore the aerospace company's authorisation to issue airworthiness certificates for Max and 787 Dreamliner passenger planes starting Monday following a thorough review of Boeing's ongoing production quality. Federal regulators took full control over 737 Max approvals in 2019, after the second of two crashes that were later blamed on a new software system Boeing developed for the aircraft. The FAA ended the company's right to self-certify Dreamliners in 2022, citing ongoing production quality issues. Going forward, Boeing and FAA inspectors will take weekly turns performing the safety checks that are required before aircraft are cleared for delivery and declared safe to fly. The FAA said the arrangement will

Updated On: 27 Sep 2025 | 7:31 AM IST

Boeing building a culture where all speak up freely, says Salil Gupte

Boeing India President Salil Gupte says employees must feel comfortable speaking up on issues as Indian suppliers move from build-to-print to build-to-specification

Updated On: 18 Sep 2025 | 9:56 PM IST

Entirely normal given airline's scale: CEO on Air India's recent snags

Campbell Wilson tells employees that operational snags are expected at Air India's scale, citing transparency in reporting and over 1,200 daily group departures

Updated On: 07 Sep 2025 | 10:52 PM IST

Abu Dhabi-bound IndiGo flight returns to Kochi after mid-air technical snag

An Abu Dhabi-bound IndiGo flight returned to Kochi early on Saturday due to a technical snag after being airborne for over two hours, according to sources. There were more than 180 passengers and six crew members onboard the aircraft, they said. There was no immediate comment from IndiGo. The flight 6E-1403 (COK-AUH) departed from Kochi at 11.10 pm on Friday and returned to the city at around 1.44 am on Saturday due to a technical snag, the sources told PTI. They also said that the passengers were flown to Abu Dhabi in another aircraft which took off at around 3.30 am and a new set of crew operated the flight as the earlier crew had to be replaced due to flight duty time restrictions. As per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com, flight 6E1403 which had returned mid-way, was operated with an A320 neo aircraft.

Updated On: 06 Sep 2025 | 10:26 AM IST

Kolkata-bound IndiGo flights returns to Nagpur after suspected bird hit

A Nagpur-Kolkata IndiGo flight returned to the airport here following a suspected bird hit after take-off on Tuesday morning, a senior airport official said. As a precautionary measure, the plane, carrying 160 to 165 passengers, had to return to the Nagpur airport, the official told PTI. The flight has been cancelled, the official added.

Updated On: 02 Sep 2025 | 7:49 PM IST

IndiGo aircraft suffers tail strike amid go-around at Mumbai Airport

The airline assured that all passengers and crew on board were safe

Updated On: 16 Aug 2025 | 7:48 PM IST

SC junks PIL seeking safety audit, says Air India tragedy singled out

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to hear a plea to appoint a retired top court judge for examining Air India's safety practices among other aspects and asked the petitioner why target the airline that witnessed an "unfortunate tragedy". A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi told the petitioner in-person Narendera Kumar Goswami to withdraw his PIL and asked him to move the appropriate forum in case of grievances. "Don't give the impression that you are playing with other airlines. Why target Air India only which recently witnessed an unfortunate tragedy? If you want some regulatory mechanism in place, then why did you not make other airlines as party in your petition? Why only Air India?" the bench asked Goswami, a lawyer. The petitioner claimed to be a victim of "some unfortunate incident" with the airline. Justice Kant then told him, "We also travel every week and know what is the status. There was a tragedy, a very unfortunate one. This is not a time to run down a

Updated On: 08 Aug 2025 | 2:52 PM IST

Four killed in crash of medical transport plane on Navajo Nation in Arizona

A medical transport plane crashed and caught fire on Tuesday on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona, killing four people, the tribe said in a statement. The crash involving the CSI Aviation company out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, occurred near the airport in Chinle, about 200 miles (321 kilometres) northeast of Flagstaff. Those on board were medical personnel who were on their way to a hospital to pickup a patient. The Beechcraft 300 crashed in the early afternoon while landing at the airport, Federal Aviation Administration officials said in an email. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating. The tribe said the cause of the crash is unknown. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said in a social media post that he was heartbroken to learn of the crash. "These were people who dedicated their lives to saving others, and their loss is felt deeply across the Navajo Nation," he said.

Updated On: 06 Aug 2025 | 7:33 AM IST

Why hunt for the black box? There's a simpler fix for faster crash probes

Aircraft are equipped with sensors and recorders, which capture everything mechanical and electrical, and record cockpit conversations

Updated On: 25 Jul 2025 | 10:53 PM IST

IndiGo Ahmedabad-Diu flight aborts take-off after technical snag detected

IndiGo aborts Ahmedabad-Diu flight take-off after technical snag; passengers safe, offered refunds or rebooking as airline cites safety as top priority

Updated On: 23 Jul 2025 | 6:22 PM IST