The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has called for the immediate grounding of Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, citing a series of recent technical malfunctions and raising serious safety concerns. In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Friday, October 10, 2025, the FIP urged the ministry to ground all Air India Boeing 787 flights operating in the country and demanded a special audit of the airline's aircraft by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The FIP, representing approximately 5,500 pilots, highlighted specific incidents to support their demand. One such incident involved an Air India flight AI-117 from Amritsar to Birmingham, where the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) unexpectedly deployed during its final approach on October 4. The RAT is an emergency power system that automatically deploys to provide power during in-flight failures. The airline later confirmed that all systems were operating normally despite the uncommanded deployment.
Another incident involved flight AI-154 from Vienna to Delhi on October 9, which was diverted to Dubai after the autopilot system failed, triggering a series of technical malfunctions. The FIP stated that the pilots were unable to engage the autopilot due to electrical malfunctions, forcing them to fly manually at night. The aircraft experienced failures across critical systems, including the Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Flight Directors (FDs), with degraded flight control systems and no autoland capability.
Air India has acknowledged the diversion of the Vienna-Delhi flight due to a technical issue but denied that the aircraft suffered an electrical failure. According to Air India, the aircraft landed safely in Dubai, and passengers were accommodated and later flown to Delhi on the same aircraft without further issues. Regarding the RAT deployment on flight AI-117, the airline confirmed the incident but stated that all electrical and hydraulic systems remained normal. Air India reported the incident to the DGCA and submitted a preliminary report, and the aircraft has since been cleared to resume operations.
The FIP's letter also referenced the fatal crash of Air India flight AI-171 at Ahmedabad in June, which killed 260 people. The preliminary investigation indicated that the RAT deployed after the plane lost power, but officials are still working to determine the cause of the power loss. The FIP has been demanding an exhaustive check of the electrical systems of all Boeing 787-8 aircraft since the crash.
The pilots' association has expressed concerns that the increasing number of technical failures are compromising air safety. They also attributed the rise in technical snags to the airline's shift to an in-house engineering team, raising concerns about a lack of experienced maintenance staff. The FIP has requested a thorough investigation of the recent incidents, a grounding of all Air India Boeing 787s for thorough checks of their electrical systems and other repetitive snags, and a special audit of Air India by senior staff from the DGCA's Flight Safety Directorate (FSD), Air Safety and Airworthiness.
