One year after crash, Air India fights to regain altitude

A year after the crash of Flight AI171, Air India is attempting to turn a defining crisis into a catalyst for change.

- Dipali Banka

It has tightened maintenance oversight, strengthened safety processes and brought in experienced aviation executives to improve engineering discipline, according to three people familiar with the airline's operations, including an Air India executive, a regulator and a third-party service provider.

Yet, despite heightened vigilance and closer scrutiny from regulators, industry experts and customers, significant operational gaps remain, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

“Since the crash, maintenance has been under sharper focus, with heightened oversight and stricter monitoring by Singapore Airlines to ensure the highest safety standards,” said one of the three people cited above, an industry executive whose company provides services to Air India.

After the crash, aircraft maintenance expert Jeremy Yew, who had been with Singapore Airlines, moved to Air India as senior vice-president, engineering, in November 2023. His responsibilities were expanded in April when he was named senior vice-president, engineering and maintenance, according to his LinkedIn profile. Captain Basil Kwauk, Air India’s chief operations officer, also joined from Singapore Airlines.

These are part of a broader effort to bring global best practices into the airline, an Air India executive said.