Air India has initiated a fleet-wide re-inspection of the fuel control switches on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft following a reported defect. The inspection was prompted by an incident where a pilot reported a potential issue with the fuel control switch on a Boeing 787-8 after a flight from London Heathrow to Bengaluru.

The airline grounded the specific Boeing 787-8 aircraft for thorough checks after the pilot reported the defect on Monday, February 2, 2026. The flight, which originated from London Heathrow on Sunday, February 1, 2026, landed in Bengaluru on Monday morning.

Air India's Senior Vice President for Flight Operations, Manish Uppal, informed Boeing 787 pilots that the airline has started a precautionary re-inspection of the aircraft's fuel control switches. According to sources, Uppal stated that the engineering team has escalated the matter to Boeing for priority evaluation. While awaiting Boeing's response, Air India engineers have initiated a fleet-wide re-inspection of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) latch to verify normal operations.

Air India currently operates 33 Boeing 787 aircraft, including 26 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners from the legacy Air India fleet, six Boeing 787-9 aircraft inducted from Vistara, and one custom-made plane added to the fleet in January.

Sources indicate that about half of the fleet has already been inspected, and no technical issues have been found thus far. Inspections of the remaining aircraft are ongoing. Uppal also communicated that no adverse findings have been reported on the aircraft for which re-inspection has been completed. He has directed crew members to promptly report any defects observed during operations and to ensure all required actions are completed before accepting an aircraft.

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to examine the issue more closely. FIP president Captain CS Randhawa noted this as the third known instance involving uncommanded issues, though further details were not specified in the provided context.

The functioning of the fuel control switch is under scrutiny, especially after the fatal crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 in Ahmedabad last June, which killed 260 people. The preliminary probe report indicated that the fuel supply was cut off shortly after take-off. Air India had previously inspected the fuel control switches last year following the accident.

An Air India spokesperson confirmed that the matter has been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and that the aircraft manufacturer is involved to examine the concern urgently. The spokesperson emphasized that the safety of passengers and crew remains Air India's top priority.