Lawmakers Question Air Safety After a June Crash Killed 260 People

India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), is warning that the nation’s current staff shortage is posing an “existential threat” to the airspace. This concerning message comes just two months after an Air India plane crash killed 260 people, leaving just one passenger alive.

That crash involved Flight 171 bound for London. The Dreamliner lost altitude almost immediately after takeoff, going down in a residential neighborhood less than a mile from the runway. Only one passenger made it out alive, with hundreds of passengers, crewmembers, and students and doctors in the hostel below being killed in the accident.

The DGCA, not tying gaps to the crash, admits that only 553 of its 1,063 authorized positions are filled. The panel reviewing the regulator says its hiring system is “slow and inflexible,” leaving key safety roles unstaffed. India’s Air traffic controllers have also been stretched thin by rapid air travel, causing them to work “prolonged and fatiguing duty schedules,” in some cases without sufficient training. Lawmakers didn’t hold back in their report: in its present form, the regulator “is not in a position to discharge its duties for which it was established.”

India’s aviation sector is now the world’s third-largest, fueled by budget carriers, rising disposable incomes, and government airport projects. Rising alongside air traffic, the report highlights, is runway incursions. The country reported 14.12 incursions per million movements in 2024, well above the target of 9.78. This issue is only worsened by systemic problems in error reporting. In response, the committee urged a stronger “Just Culture” system to allow non-punitive, yet accountable reporting.

The DGCA has insisted the shortages haven’t affected its functioning, and it points to India’s accident rates being better than the global average in most years. Still, the parliamentary report proves that staffing gaps, fatigue, and overloaded infrastructure have created a fragile safety net in India’s airspace.

FMI: www.dgca.gov.in