The noose is tightening around Air India. Sources at the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have confirmed to this newspaper that a full-scale review of the carrier’s safety protocols has been launched, prompted by the preliminary findings of the upcoming final crash report into the Boeing 787 incident over Mumbai six months ago. The review, codenamed “Operation Clear Skies”, is examining whether Air India – under significant financial strain – has cut corners on maintenance and crew training.
Documents obtained by this journalist reveal that the CAA has requested detailed logs for all Air India flights operating into and out of UK airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham – for the past three years. The request covers everything from engine performance data to crew rest periods. This is a clear escalation from the standard post-incident inquiry.
The crisis comes as Air India’s chief executive, Mr Vinod Singh, testified before the Indian parliament’s transport committee yesterday. In a closed-door session, Singh reportedly admitted that the airline was operating with 14 per cent fewer engineers than mandated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. He also confirmed that 60 per cent of the airline’s long-haul fleet had undergone deferred maintenance on landing gear components.
The crash in question occurred on 15 September, when an Air India 787-8, flight AI-117 from Delhi to London, was hit by severe turbulence at 37,000 feet over the Arabian Sea. Four passengers were seriously injured and the aircraft suffered structural damage. Initial reports blamed “unexpected clear-air turbulence”. But leaked documents from the Indian aircraft accident investigation bureau suggest the aircraft’s weather radar may have been malfunctioning, and the flight crew did not receive critical updates from the ground.
A former senior investigator with the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch, who asked to remain anonymous, told me: “There is a distinct possibility that the issue is systemic. If Air India has been operating with substandard equipment and undertrained crews, then every flight is a risk. The CAA is right to act.”
Air India’s financial troubles are well known. The airline has posted losses exceeding £400 million in the last financial year. In a bid to cut costs, the airline outsourced the maintenance of 30 per cent of its fleet to third-party vendors, including firms in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The CAA review is expected to assess whether these vendors meet UK safety standards.
A spokesperson for Air India said: “We are cooperating fully with the CAA review. Safety is our top priority, and we have made no compromises. Any allegations of corner-cutting are baseless and defamatory.” But the statement did not address the specific questions this journalist put to them about the engineer shortage or the maintenance deferrals.
The CAA has declined to comment on “operational matters”. But internal emails, seen by this newspaper, show that CAA officials have been in daily contact with their counterparts in India and at the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. The message is clear: this is not just a bilateral concern. If Air India is found wanting, its UK operating licence could be suspended or revoked. That would ground flights for millions of passengers and deal a devastating blow to the airline’s already battered reputation.
The final crash report is due to be released next week. But this newspaper has learned that the report will include a recommendation for the immediate grounding of six Boeing 787s fitted with a specific Rolls-Royce engine model. The engines have been implicated in two previous power-loss incidents. Air India insists the engines are safe. The CAA appears not to be convinced.
As one source put it: “This is not just about one plane. This is about a culture of cutting corners. And we are going to get to the bottom of it.”
