Air India flew Airbus planes with unverified emergency slides, prompting regulator warning
The country’s aviation regulator pulled up the airline for ‘weak oversight’ and violating safety protocols
India’s aviation regulator has warned Air India for breaching safety rules after three of its Airbus planes flew despite being overdue for checks on emergency equipment, and for being slow to address the issue, government documents show.
In the report, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said spot checks in May on three Air India Airbus planes found that they were operated despite mandatory inspections being overdue on the “critical emergency equipment” of escape slides.
In one case, the watchdog found that the inspection of an Airbus A320 jet was delayed by more than a month before being carried out on May 15. AirNav Radar data shows that during the delay the plane flew to international destinations such as Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah.
Another case, involving an Airbus A319 used on domestic routes, showed checks were over three months late, while a third showed an inspection was two days late.
“The above cases indicate that aircraft were operated with expired or unverified emergency equipment, which is a violation of standard airworthiness and safety requirements,” the DGCA report said.