New Delhi [India], July 28 : The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has grounded an Air India aircraft after discovering a serious lapse during a routine audit -- an overdue inspection of the aircraft's emergency slide system. The aviation regulator took immediate action, barring the aircraft from operation until the required rectification was completed.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol on Monday, through a written response, told Rajya Sabha, 'During the audit of Air India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has found that the inspection of the emergency slide was overdue. DGCA immediately grounded the aircraft till the required rectification was carried out. DGCA has initiated enforcement action against Air India and its responsible personnel as per the Enforcement Policy and Procedure Manual of DGCA.
The minister's response was to DMK member Tiruchi Siva's query on whether Government is aware that aircraft operated by Air India, in the weeks preceding the crash of Flight-171 in June 2025, were allowed to fly with overdue emergency slide inspections, in violation of mandatory safety norms, and if so, the accountability that has been fixed on DGCA for regulatory oversight failure.
In response to the question of whether any performance audit of DGCA's enforcement actions over the last five years has been undertaken in cases of repeat violations, the Minister said, 'In 2022, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) carried out the ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) audit of DGCA India. As per the ICAO assessment, the effective implementation score of India is 85.65.
On whether DGCA's enforcement mechanisms are resourced to address technical non-compliance in a timely way, Mohol said, "DGCA ensures the compliance by airlines with all safety and maintenance standards through the mechanism of conducting surveillance, spot checks, night surveillance, etc., of the airlines. and its personnel.
In case of violation, DGCA takes enforcement action in accordance with procedures prescribed in the Enforcement Policy and Procedure Manual. The enforcement action consists of warning, suspension, and cancellation, including imposition of a financial penalty on the airlines/personnel. DGCA officials are well trained to perform the oversight and enforcement function".