New Delhi: An Air India Express spokesperson said that the airline remains committed to the highest standards of safety and regulatory adherence. Addressing a recent oversight, the airline clarified to India TV exclusively that an Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in May 2023 applied to two engines in its fleet.
Due to a record migration process on its monitoring software, the technical team missed the alert for one of the engines. “The necessary changes were made immediately upon identification,” the spokesperson noted. The directive was already complied with on the second affected engine within the stipulated time frame.
The airline informed India’s aviation regulator, the DGCA, about the lapse and promptly implemented corrective and preventive measures. Additionally, appropriate administrative action was taken against those held responsible.
Tata-owned Air India Express is under regulatory fire following revelations of delayed engine component replacements and alleged record tampering related to an Airbus A320 aircraft. The incident, flagged in a confidential DGCA memo, has further intensified concerns over safety oversight within the airline group.
In May 2023, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) requiring the timely replacement of components in certain engines. Air India Express admitted that the directive applied to two of its engines, but its technical team missed the alert for one due to data migration issues on its maintenance software. The issue was rectified once identified.
According to a DGCA memo reviewed by news agency Reuters, records in the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Operating System (AMOS) were allegedly altered to falsely show timely compliance with the directive. The regulator reprimanded the airline in March, stating that Air India Express had attempted to appear compliant through forged entries.
The airline acknowledged the lapse and stated it took corrective measures. It also confirmed that the only other engine affected by the AD was brought into compliance within the required timeframe. Administrative action included removing the quality manager from their position and suspending the deputy continuing airworthiness manager.
This incident adds to a series of regulatory warnings against the Tata-run airline group. In addition to the engine issue, Air India was cited for operating aircraft with overdue emergency slide checks and violating pilot duty regulations. The lapses precede but compound scrutiny in the aftermath of the fatal Air India Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad on June 12 that killed over 300 people.
Air India Express, which operates key domestic and short international routes such as Dubai and Muscat, has been caught in a web of safety warnings. Government data indicates that 11 of 23 aviation safety violations in 2023 involved either Air India or Air India Express.
Despite the Tata Group’s ambition to elevate Air India as a world-class carrier, the spate of incidents, including this “grave mistake” as termed by former aviation officials, casts a shadow over its ongoing transformation efforts.
