ISLAMABAD: Government data presented in the lower house of the Indian parliament, Lok Sabha, has revealed that nearly three-fourths of the Air India Group’s aircraft fleet has been flagged for recurring technical defects following inspections conducted since January last year.

The data was shared on Thursday by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol in response to questions in the House, according to Indian media.

According to the information provided, a total of 754 aircraft across six scheduled airlines were analyzed for repetitive defects during the period under review.

Of these, 377 aircraft were found to have recurring deficiencies.

Air India Group, which includes Air India and Air India Express, accounted for a significant share of the findings.

Out of 267 aircraft analyzed within the group, 191 were identified as having repetitive defects, amounting to nearly 72% of the fleet examined. Specifically, Air India had 166 aircraft analyzed, of which 137 showed recurring defects.

Air India Express saw 54 aircraft flagged for repetitive defects out of the 101 aircraft that were inspected.

Market leader IndiGo also underwent extensive checks.

As of February 3 this year, 405 IndiGo aircraft had been analyzed, with 148 found to have repetitive defects.

Other carriers were also part of the analysis.

SpiceJet had 43 aircraft examined, of which 16 were identified with recurring defects.

Akasa Air, the newest entrant among the airlines analyzed, saw 14 of its 32 aircraft flagged for similar issues.

Responding to the data, an Air India spokesperson said that the airline had carried out checks across its fleet “out of abundance of caution,” which contributed to the higher number of defects being reported, an Indian news agency reported.

A senior Air India executive explained that multiple types of equipment are inspected during such checks and are categorized into A, B, C, and D segments based on priority and urgency.

The executive said that in Air India’s case, most of the issues fall under category D, which includes items such as seats, tray tables, and seat-back screens.

These issues, the executive clarified, are not related to aircraft safety.

The executive added that as the retrofit program for Air India’s narrow-body aircraft is rolled out over the next two years, these issues will also be addressed.

Articles tagged with "Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol"

Air India Group: 72% fleet flagged for recurring defects, data shows