Air India CEO reassures flyers on safety

Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson on Wednesday sought to reassure members of the airlines frequent flyer programme, Maharaja Club, that their concerns over flight safety were 'understandable' given the heightened scrutiny following a recent fatal crash and regulatory findings.
 
He said the airline is taking several steps to strengthen safety through reinforced operations, inspections, and training.
 
On July 23, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued four show-cause notices to Air India for serious and repeated violations involving crew deployment, training gaps, and pilot rest rules.

The regulator pointed to multiple safety lapses and held senior executives -- including directors of cabin safety, training, and operations -- accountable.

DGCA data released on July 30 showed 19 'level 1' safety findings -- requiring immediate corrective action -- across Air India group airlines in the past year. These included 10 in Vistara, seven in Air India, and two in Air India Express.

All other Indian carriers recorded zero findings in this most serious category.

The DGCA maintained, however, that a higher number of observations was 'entirely normal' for airlines of larger scale and complexity.

The enforcement actions followed the June 12 crash of flight AI171 in Ahmedabad, in which 241 of the 242 people on board were killed.

In his email to Maharaja Club members, Wilson wrote: 'Following the tragic accident of AI171 in June, it is understandable that there is heightened scrutiny, coverage, and concern about air travel.'

'All our processes are backed by a comprehensive Safety Management System aligned with global aviation standards and fully compliant with the DGCA and the UN International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidelines,' he said.

Wilson noted that Air India undergoes annual DGCA audits and a bi-annual IATA Operational Safety Audit conducted by an external team of experts.

'These audits are part of the aviation industrys process of continuous improvement and, as the DGCA stated in a recent communique, Air India's recent results are 'entirely normal' for an airline of our scale and scope,' he said.

Detailed DGCA-supervised inspections of the Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fleet, Wilson added, had yielded 'no issues.'

Similar checks of fuel control mechanisms on Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft also produced 'no findings'.

Wilson said the airlines voluntary 'Safety Pause' -- a temporary reduction in its flight network --remains in effect to allow for additional pre-flight checks and to fast-track upgrades and reliability improvements.

Addressing oversight concerns, he wrote that regular safety protocols are 'rigorous and multi-layered', including pre-flight checks by trained engineers and pilots, and continuous monitoring of every flight by the Integrated Operations Control Centre.

Post-privatisation, Air India has engaged global consultancies Oliver Wyman/CAVOK and Boeing to assess and strengthen operational and safety systems.

In a bid to restore passenger confidence, Wilson said phased international operations resumed from August 1 and are expected to be fully restored by October 1, ensuring 'every verification is thoroughly completed'.

-- Deepak Patel, Business Standard