Half Of Inspected Aircraft Had Recurring Defects In Last 13 Months; Air India, IndiGo Top List: Centre

Last Updated:February 06, 2026, 08:23 IST

According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, 754 aircraft operated by six scheduled carriers were assessed for repetitive technical snags since January last year.

Nearly half the aircraft examined for technical deficiencies across Indian airlines have been flagged for recurring defects, with Air India Group and IndiGo accounting for the largest share, government data presented in the Lok Sabha on Thursday showed.

According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, 754 aircraft operated by six scheduled carriers were assessed for repetitive technical snags since January last year. Of these, 377 aircraft were found to have recurring issues.

IndiGo, which has the largest fleet in the country, had the highest number of aircraft reviewed.

As of February 3, 405 IndiGo planes were examined, with 148 identified as having repetitive defects, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said in a written response to Parliament.

The Air India Group, however, recorded a significantly higher proportion of aircraft with repeated faults.

Of the 267 aircraft checked across Air India and Air India Express, 191 were flagged for recurring defects, nearly 72 per cent of the fleet audited.

This included 137 of 166 Air India aircraft and 54 of 101 Air India Express planes.

Other airlines also featured in the data. Of the 43 SpiceJet aircraft analysed, 16 were found to have recurring defects, while Akasa Air had 14 aircraft flagged out of 32 reviewed.

Responding to the figures, Air India said the numbers reflected the airline’s decision to carry out comprehensive inspections across its fleet as a precautionary measure.

An Air India spokesperson said the checks were undertaken “out of an abundance of caution," leading to a higher number of reported observations.

A senior Air India executive added that most of the issues identified were low-priority in nature and did not pose safety risks.

Aircraft systems are classified from category A to D based on urgency, with category D covering non-critical items such as seats, tray tables and in-flight entertainment screens. The majority of Air India’s observations fell under this category, the executive said.

The government also highlighted increased regulatory oversight by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Mohol said the regulator conducted 3,890 surveillance inspections last year, along with 56 regulatory audits, 84 checks of foreign aircraft and 492 ramp inspections under its planned monitoring programme.

In addition, the DGCA carried out 874 spot checks and 550 night inspections as part of unplanned surveillance.

To strengthen oversight, the government has expanded the regulator’s technical manpower. The number of sanctioned technical posts at the DGCA has been increased from 637 in 2022 to 1,063 following a restructuring exercise, the minister said.

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