India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has commenced a detailed audit of Air India's primary base located in Gurugram. This comprehensive review, which began on Monday, June 23, 2025, will encompass various operational aspects, including flight scheduling, rostering, and other critical areas.
The audit is a part of DGCA's annual surveillance program and was scheduled before the recent Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner accident in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, which resulted in 241 passenger fatalities and over 30 ground casualties. However, the timing coincides with heightened regulatory oversight of Air India's operations following the tragic incident.
A senior DGCA official clarified that the inspection is a standard yearly surveillance activity and not a direct response to the Ahmedabad crash. The assessment process will focus on evaluating the efficiency of organizational safety management protocols, scrutinizing operational methodologies, and verifying adherence to regulatory standards. The DGCA has implemented a reformed audit methodology to ensure greater thoroughness.
The DGCA team will scrutinize a range of important areas, including verifying Air India's records for aircraft airworthiness and checking crew training and duty hours. The objective is to ensure that the airline is fully complying with all safety regulations. DGCA officials have been instructed to submit comprehensive details of all Air India inspections and audits conducted since 2024.
The aviation regulator has also revamped its audit procedure to make it more comprehensive. Traditionally, safety checks and audits in Indian aviation were carried out in separate silos. Inspectors looked at compliance for one area such as airworthiness or crew training without seeing the bigger picture. The new system adopts a more holistic model, going beyond spot checks or scheduled inspections.
Under the new plan, audits will examine three broad areas of an airline's operations: the effectiveness of its Safety Management System, the robustness of its day-to-day practices, and overall compliance with existing regulations. The DGCA noted that this is a paradigm shift, and they will look at the entire aviation ecosystem, not just one piece at a time. The DGCA added that its review teams will include experts from different domains including safety, engineering, training, and navigation to make the audits more thorough.
Meanwhile, Air India has announced a temporary reduction of 118 weekly narrow-body aircraft flights across 19 routes, alongside the suspension of operations on three routes, to focus on maintenance and safety compliance during this period. With this renewed regulatory focus, the DGCA aims to ensure that safety and compliance take top priority across India's civil aviation sector.
