Directorate General of Civil Aviation mandated extra checks of Air India’s Boeing 787 aircraft have not revealed any major safety concerns, the regulator has said.

The aircraft and associated maintenance systems were found to be compliant with existing safety standards, it said on Tuesday after a review meeting with Air India. 

However, DGCA has raised concerns over maintenance practices at Air India which is resulting in flight delays.

“DGCA raised concerns regarding recent maintenance-related issues reported by Air India. The airline was advised to strengthen internal co-ordination across engineering, operations, ground handling units and ensure availability of adequate spares to mitigate passenger delays resulting from such issues and strictly adhere to regulations,” the regulator said in a statement.

The review was carried out on Tuesday which saw 16 flight cancellations, 13 of those being operated by Boeing 787 aircraft. Infact, Air India has cancelled 83 flights in the last six days, 66 of which were operated by Boeing 787s.

The regulator recommended the implementation of a more systematic and real-time defect reporting mechanism to ensure that operational and safety-critical departments receive timely updates.

Inclement weather in Delhi too contributed to delays and diversions.

Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule flagged off the issue of a three-hour delay to a Pune-Delhi flight (operated by Airbus A320 aircraft).

“No clear communication, no updates, no assistance and very bad service. Such delays and mismanagement are becoming a norm with Air India,” Sule said in a X post on Tuesday evening.

Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu promptly responded stating that airline and airport have been asked to address concerns of impacted passengers.

Over the past two days at least three Air India aircraft have been grounded (two Boeing 787s and one Boeing 777) in Kolkata, Hong Kong and Zurich for technical reasons. 

While this is impacting schedules, the enhanced flying times due to closure of Iran and Iraq airspace is creating more challenges. As a result of the airspace closure, Air India flights bound for Europe and the US are taking a southern route that flies over Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and this has increased flight times.

On Tuesday afternoon, Air India cancelled its Ahmedabad-London Gatwick flight, now operating under a different number, inconveniencing passengers. 

While Air India said airspace closure and enhanced checks led to longer turnaround times and non-availability of aircraft, impacted passengers said they were kept in dark about the reason. 

“I am travelling with my wife and two kids. Their school was supposed to start tomorrow. Everything got disrupted because of the crash last week. We really want to go back but the airline has not provided any information over phone or email,” UK resident Sohal Dave told a news agency.

Air India cancelled its Delhi-Paris flight after a pre-flight check revealed an issue that needed resolution, it said. Restrictions at night operations at Paris airport was also considered before cancelling the flight.

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Published on June 17, 2025