Technical incidents such
as engine oil and fuel leaks affecting Air India flights reached
the highest rate in at least 14 months in January, a company
document shows, underscoring growing strain on the carrier’s
revamp ambitions.
India’s second-largest airline has come under scrutiny from
the country’s safety regulator since a crash last year killed
260 people. It has since reported many safety lapses and in
December admitted there was a “need for urgent improvements in
process discipline, communication, and compliance culture”.
In January, Air India recorded 1.09 technical incidents per
1,000 flights, quadrupling from levels of just 0.26 in December
2024
It did
not provide earlier data.
Air India operated more than 17,500 flights in January and
recorded 23 technical incidents on its international and
domestic flights, according to the document, which is not
public. At least 21 of those incidents were investigated
formally by the airline.
“Systemic improvements (are) being introduced across flight
ops, training, engineering quality, and procedural oversight to
prevent recurrence,” the Air India document said.
Air India and India’s civil aviation ministry did not
respond to Reuters’ queries.
The document provided only selective comparisons to global
airline industry norms based on data that is not publicly
available and did not contain information on the airline’s
budget subsidiary Air India Express.
CHALLENGES GALORE
Air India, which is owned by Tata Group and Singapore
Airlines, has been struggling to rebuild its
reputation and international network, and replace its ageing
fleet that has been hobbled by supply chain delays.
Pakistan’s airspace closure for Indian carriers due to
diplomatic tensions has also hit it financially and forced it to
shut some long-haul routes.
India’s civil aviation ministry told lawmakers this month
that 82.5% of the 166 Air India aircraft it analysed since
January 2025 had recurring technical defects, compared with
36.5% for market leader IndiGo. The ministry gave no
further details.
The Air India document said the technical incidents reported
last month included engine stall warnings, issues related to
flight control and hydraulics, and engine oil and fuel leaks.
There were incidents on both its Airbus and Boeing
aircraft, including five instances of fuel or engine oil
leaks in the month. A Dubai-Mumbai flight on arrival found that
an engine’s oil quantity was “low”.
In another incident, a Delhi-Dubai flight on January 12 was
forced to turn back after takeoff due to the absence of water in
lavatory and galley, the document said.
Operational incidents including rejected takeoffs, flying at
a restricted altitude and taking off with incorrect settings
stood at 0.29 per 1,000 flights in January, more than double the
level in December 2024, the document stated.
But there has been a “decrease in operational incidents” in
recent months, it added.
TAKING STEPS
Air India has a fleet of 191 planes, but has placed orders
for over 500 more aircraft.
But revamping an airline owned by the Indian government
until 2022 has been a major challenge, and Air India CEO
Campbell Wilson has repeatedly complained that supply chain
disruptions have delayed cabin retrofits.
The Air India February document detailed steps it is taking
to “drive down” the various technical issues.
To control leakage events, it has introduced a periodic
inspection program for its fleet of Airbus A320s, and replaced
all steering-system hydraulic hoses on all its Boeing 777s.
A periodic air-conditioning leak-check programme has also
been put in place, and Air India is implementing “targeted
engineering actions” to “strengthen aircraft reliability and
reduce incident rates”, the document said.
Air India’s issues have also attracted international
regulatory scrutiny. Britain’s aviation authority asked Air
India to explain why a Boeing Dreamliner jet that was grounded
on arrival in India for safety checks took off from London with
a possibly faulty fuel switch, Reuters reported this month.
Air India replied that it had reminded pilots that they
needed to operate in accordance with proper procedures and it
had protectively replaced the throttle control module on the
plane, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority did not respond immediately
to a request for comment.
Published on February 24, 2026