Reimagining India’s civil aviation in 2026

Injecting the DGCA with expertise at every level is the pressing need of the hour, especially to avoid the tragic blunders of the past year

- Anjuli Bhargava

The year gone by will go down in history as a tragic year for Indian aviation. The question before us is: Do we as a nation brood over the past or look ahead to rectify what's broken? Resilient India would vote for the latter.

The June 2025 Air India 171 crash is something that the nation cannot erase from memory, not just because of the lives lost but also because of how devastating the psychological impact was for almost anyone who keenly observed the aftermath of the crash. That the flying public remains wary and prays silently before takeoff and during touchdown even today speaks volumes about the collective trauma this disaster inflicted —shaking the confidence of many, both within the airline and outside. Worse, confidence in the system, including in those in charge of keeping the skies safe, has taken a severe beating. As one observer put it, India was struck by two numbing disasters in close succession: The crash and the handling of its aftermath.