Exclusive regulator warns India Air Express about delays in Airbus engine repair, forged records
Authors: Aditya Kalra and Aditi Shah
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian aviation regulator condemned Air India’s budget airline in March for failing to change the engine portion of the Airbus A320 as directed by the EU Aviation Safety Agency and forged records to show compliance.
Air India told Reuters in a statement it acknowledged the mistakes of the Indian watchdog and carried out “remedial measures and preventive measures”.
Air India has been under severe scrutiny since the June Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad, which killed all of the 242 people on board. The world’s worst aviation disaster is still under investigation for a decade.
Air India Airlines Airbus’s engine issues were raised on March 18 months before the crash. However, the regulator also warned Indian parents this year that it violated the rules of three Airbus planes that fled the expiration inspection of the escape slides and in June warned it “seriously violated” the pilot’s duty timing.
Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India owned by Tata Group. It has 115 aircraft, traveling to more than 50 destinations, and has 500 flights per day.
The EU Aviation Safety Agency issued an airworthiness directive in 2023 for the “potential insecurity” of the CFM International Leap-1A engine, requiring the replacement of certain components, such as engine seals and rotating parts, saying some manufacturing inadequacy has been found.
“If not corrected, this situation could lead to failure of affected parts, which could lead to the release of high-energy debris, thereby damaging and reducing control of the aircraft,” the agency’s instructions said.
The Indian government sent airlines in March a confidential memo sent to airlines by Reuters said surveillance by the General Administration of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed that parts were modified in the Airbus A320’s engine “within a prescribed time limit.”
“To prove that this work was conducted within the prescribed restrictions, the AMOS records have obviously been changed/forged,” the memorandum added.
The memorandum added that mandatory modifications are required on VT-ATD aircraft for express delivery in India. According to the Airnav Radar website, the aircraft usually fly on domestic routes and on some international destinations.
It added, “Shows that responsible managers fail to ensure quality control”.
Air India Express told Reuters that due to record migrations on its surveillance software, the scheduled implementation date for parts replacement was missing and resolved shortly after the issue was determined.
It did not give a date for compliance and did not directly address DGCA’s comments on the records being changed, but said it had taken “necessary administrative litigation” after the March memorandum, which included the withdrawal of the quality manager from the person’s position and the suspension of the deputy representative’s ongoing momentum manager.
DGCA and the European Security Agency did not respond to Reuters’ questions.
Airbus and CFM International, a joint venture between GE and Safran, also did not respond.
A direct knowledge source said the aircraft was first marked in a DGCA review in October 2024, with only a few trips after the plane was supposed to replace CFM engine parts.
“This type of problem should be addressed immediately. This is a serious mistake. The risk increases when you fly over sea or almost limited air freight.”
The Indian government told parliament in February that authorities warned or fined airlines over 23 things last year. Three of these cases involved Air India Express and eight Air India.
Tata Group acquired Air India from the Indian government in 2022, and Dreamliner Crast constitutes its ambition to make it a “world-class airline”.
Although Air India has actively expanded its international flight network throughout the months, it still faces ongoing complaints from passengers who often go to social media to show off dirty seats, broken handrails, non-operating entertainment systems and dirty cabins.
(Reported by Aditya Kalra and Aditi Shah; Editor of Kim Coghill)
