June 2025 was a tough month for Air India. The horrifying plane crash in Ahmedabad made a massive dent in its public image at a time when the airline was building its public perception after the takeover by Tata Group.

Since the incident, even the tiniest transgression or issue has acquired mammoth proportions and attention because of the AI171 Ahmedabad crash and the unrelenting media gaze on the airline post it.

In July, a few weeks after the crash on June 12 that killed 260 people, two incidents involving Air India flights created more alarm among the flying public although neither led to any casualties. In one case, the aircraft veered off the runway on account of heavy rain while landing in Mumbai and was grounded for checks and in the other, the aircraft’s rear end caught fire after landing, grounding yet another aircraft of the airline’s fleet.

This was followed by a series of show cause notices issued by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which seemed to have intensified scrutiny post the accident across airlines but on Air India in particular. The show cause notices highlighted 29 violations over a one-year period (June 2024 to June 2025) and were disclosed voluntarily by the airline. DGCA also pointed out that repeated warnings had been issued in the past and the recurrence of such violations suggests a failure to establish effective control mechanisms.

A notice issued to the Director of Cabin Safety referred to four instances of non-compliance of cabin crew requirements in 2025 for ultra long-haul range flights. Another one to the Director of Flight Operations referred to weekly rest violations in the case of three specific crew members. Two such violations happened on June 24 last year and one on June 13 this year. “These violations reflect serious deficiencies in crew scheduling, operational planning and regulatory oversight within the flight operations function,” a DGCA notice pointed out. A further notice was issued to the Cabin Safety Training Manager of Air India for breach of regulatory requirements in case of flight operations – the crew operated flights with a lapsed competency card on numerous occasions.

Then, the Director (Training) of Air India was issued a show cause notice in connection with violations committed by 19 crew members. These highlighted lapses found in training norms and protocols.

By the end of July, a DGCA audit into level one (more serious) and level two findings across airlines found a total of 19 level one findings with Tata Group airlines in the last year, the only one with level one findings among the Indian carriers audited. The DGCA classifies audit findings into two levels; Level 1 involves direct safety hazards,........

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