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

Two recent major incidents — the temporary grounding of nearly 6,000 Airbus A320 aircraft worldwide and widespread IndiGo cancellations in India — have brought the aviation sector under scrutiny. Globally, there are about 35,550 commercial aircraft, with India accounting for 3 per cent. Airbus operates around 12,000 aircraft worldwide, 5 per cent of them in India. Of the 544 Airbus planes registered in India, IndiGo controls 65 per cent. Recurring glitches lately have raised concerns about their reliability in Indian skies. 

India’s scheduled commercial fleet size almost doubled from 448 in 2015-16 to 848 in 2024-25. Over the same period, accidents and incidents accounted for 0.4-3.5 per cent of the fleet. 

 

In 2024-25, Airbus remained dominant with 64.2 per cent of India’s aircraft fleet, followed by Boeing at 23 per cent and ATR, built by the Airbus-Leonardo joint venture, at 8.3 per cent. 

 

In 2023-24, the Airbus A320 family remained the most common aircraft across Indian airlines, with AIX Connect operating 100 per cent of its fleet as A320s, Vistara at 90 per cent, and IndiGo at 87 per cent. 

 

Between 2012 and 2020, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau investigated 27 reported engine failures, 21 of which involved Airbus A320 family aircraft. 

 

Aircraft maintenance safety inspections increased between 2023 and 2025. 

 

IndiGo holds the highest share of the passenger market among scheduled operators, both domestically and internationally.