Air India has come under intense scrutiny after it operated an A320neo aircraft on eight separate routes despite the aircraft’s Airworthiness Certificate—its official fitness document—having expired. The incident, which the airline reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on 26 November, has triggered a full-scale investigation and renewed national concern regarding airline safety oversight, regulatory compliance, and the operational challenges emerging from aviation mergers. The aircraft has been grounded immediately, and all staff involved in the lapse have been removed from duty as authorities attempt to determine how such a significant failure occurred within India’s flagship airline.
Expired Certification Sparks Regulatory Alarm as DGCALaunches Investigation
The core of the controversy lies in the expiration of the Airworthiness Certificate (ARC), an official document that certifies an aircraft as safe and fully fit to fly. ARCs must be periodically renewed in accordance with aviation regulations, and they play a crucial role in ensuring mechanical reliability, structural safety, and compliance with international operational standards. The lapse occurred with an A320neo aircraft that had previously belonged to Vistara before the two airlines merged. After the 2024 integration of the aircraft into Air India’s fleet, the DGCA was designated to issue the first ARC under the merged airline’s oversight.
According to DGCA data, 69 aircraft within the fleet had already received renewed ARCs. The particular aircraft in question—referred to internally as the 70th aircraft—had applied for its certification, but at the time of inspection its engine was undergoing replacement. During this period, the ARC expired. Despite this, the aircraft was deployed on commercial routes immediately after the engine replacement, a decision that regulators now believe was the result of operational oversight and internal mismanagement rather than deliberate misconduct.
Once the lapse was discovered, Air India submitted a notification to the DGCA, prompting an immediate inquiry. Aviation authorities have grounded the aircraft and removed all responsible staff members from duty pending the outcome of the investigation. The DGCA’s preliminary review suggests that the lapse occurred due to procedural failures during the transition of Vistara aircraft into Air India’s systems following the merger. The aircraft was nonetheless released for operations without verifying the updated certification status—a step that should have been mandatory at multiple checkpoints.
This oversight is particularly concerning given the scale of the Air India–Vistara merger and the rapid operational changes it has triggered. With regulatory confidence at stake, the DGCA is expected to examine whether gaps in workflow integration, crew-level compliance, or managerial supervision contributed to the incident. The investigation’s findings are anticipated to influence future policy regarding airline mergers, aircraft transition protocols, and certification verification processes.
Merger Transition Challenges and Aviation Safety Context Following the Air India–Vistara Integration
This episode comes one year after the landmark merger of Vistara with Air India, a move that reshaped India’s aviation market. Vistara, once India’s third-largest airline, ceased independent operations after its final flight on 11 November. As part of the merger agreement, Vistara’s fleet, operating licenses, routes, and personnel were absorbed into Air India. Vistara had been a joint venture between Air India and Singapore Airlines, the latter holding a 49 percent stake before the integration. The merger, finalized after approval from the Competition Commission of India in September 2023, significantly expanded the Air India Group’s presence, making it the largest international carrier in the country and the second-largest domestically after IndiGo.
Such a merger naturally involved the transfer of dozens of aircraft, each requiring updated certifications, mechanical checks, and regulatory approvals. According to officials familiar with the integration process, the massive scale of aircraft transitions placed considerable logistical pressure on technical teams and regulatory coordinators. While this does not excuse the lapse, it provides context for how an aircraft undergoing engine replacement and certification renewal may have inadvertently bypassed final verification procedures.
Air India’s internal audit teams are now working alongside DGCA investigators to identify whether the oversight points were linked to system integration delays, human error, or gaps in communication between engineering, operations, and compliance departments. The airline, aware of the gravity of the situation, has stated that it is taking corrective measures to ensure such an incident cannot recur.
This latest lapse has emerged at a time when India’s civil aviation sector is already under pressure following heightened public sensitivity around safety incidents. The concern is amplified in the aftermath of the devastating Air India flight AI 171 crash on 12 June, one of the worst aviation tragedies in India’s modern history. The Ahmedabad-to-London flight crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 230 passengers on board—169 Indians, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese citizens, and 1 Canadian—along with 12 crew members. The tragedy grew even worse when the aircraft collided with a college hostel near Ahmedabad Medical College, killing an additional 29 people, including medical students and healthcare professionals. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was also among the victims.
The crash sent shockwaves across the world and raised urgent questions about airline maintenance standards, fleet aging, operational clarity, and emergency preparedness. Although investigations into that accident focused on multiple factors, it added immense pressure on Indian aviation authorities to ensure that safety protocols are followed rigorously across the industry.
In this environment, the revelation that an expired-certificate aircraft operated commercially—even briefly—has heightened scrutiny. Critics argue that the lapse reflects deeper systemic challenges that must be urgently addressed, including better digital tracking of certifications, stronger supervisory protocols, and more robust mechanisms for accountability.
Meanwhile, supporters of the airline caution that the merger’s scale and complexity made occasional transitional errors likely, though they emphasise that swift corrective action is essential.
What remains clear is that aviation safety is now under the national microscope, and both Air India and the DGCA face a responsibility to restore public confidence through transparent inquiry, enhanced oversight, and rigorous adherence to international standards.
