Govt pulls up Air India over rising safety issues

The government has begun holding direct meetings with Air India management amid mounting safety incidents, ordering the carrier to maintain the highest safety standards while setting a month-long timeline for reassessing its operations.

- Neha LM Tripathi

The first such meeting was held on Wednesday, in the midst of week in which an Air India aircraft caught fire at Delhi airport after landing from Hong Kong, a Kolkata-bound flight aborted takeoff due to technical issues, and a Kochi-Mumbai flight veered off the runway during landing in heavy rain.

‘According to one of these people, the “first meeting was held this evening where the airline gave a detailed explanation of their efforts towards maintaining safety”.

The discussions, this person added, “were held based on the incidents being reported by Air India and Air India Express. The ministry has ordered Air India to maintain highest level of safety standards. It will review the airline’s operations after a month.

A second official said additional meetings are expected to focus on reviewing recent incidents and discussing fleet maintenance protocols.

The direct government intervention comes amid heightened concerns over passenger safety following the June 12 crash of Air India Flight 171 that killed 260 people and a subsequent surge in technical incidents affecting the Tata-owned carrier.