The frightening downfall of Air India
The frightening downfall of Air India
Runway to Ruin
A Dead Man Walking Freefall Airline
Previously Air India has been referred to as the pride of Indian aviation now it is synonymous with institutional rot and systemic laxity. Its decline has been scathing, and recent developments have removed the varnish of tradition and unfashionable memories. The airline has suffered a disastrous aircraft crash, several technical breakdowns, inexcusable hygiene breaches and unprecedented pilot moral crisis all within the span of a couple of months. The trend is obvious, and it is not a series of random accidents but evidence of systemic cancer. Fatal crashes, cabins with cockroaches, lack of safety surveillance, the failing operations at Air India are no longer only a business issue, but also a safety issue of a nation.
Ahmedabad Tragedy: The discourse of Turning Point
It was on June 12, 2025, that Flight AI171 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flying to London crashed seconds after its takeoff in Ahmedabad but this was the moment of defining this unfolding crisis which resulted in the death of 260 people including 19 persons on the land. It appears that both fuel control switches Forestall moved to cut off for no apparent reason which resulted in engine shutdown, an undesirable and unusual situation. Even though the investigations continued there was a swift shift in the storyline of the design to the blame of the pilots. Critics have termed this shift as an effort to protect systems failures. Clamor has increased of an independent judicial inquiry particularly because India has a history of dubious crash inquiries. To most people, it was not only a technical malfunction but rather a lack of leadership in disaster management and safety supervision.
Machine Massacre and operational volatility
Less than a few weeks later the operational reliability of Air India continued to disintegrate after the crash. On August 1, Flight AI2017 aborted takeoff in Delhi because of suspected technical problems raising again concerns of low maintenance standards. Two days after the airline cancelled AI349 Singapore to Chennai based on a technical hitch and AI500 Bhubaneswar to Delhi owing to unsafe cabin temperatures. These unrelated though non-fatal accidents contribute to the image of a fleet with a mechanical unreliability coupled with a management that could not avoid repeating failures.
When technical failures (in an aviation sense) keep recurring, it is unlikely that they are purely coincidental and they are likely to indicate broad lapses in preventive maintenance, crew training and quality control.
Hygiene as a safety problem | The Cockroach Problem
Upon mechanical failures failing to cause humiliation the brand of Air India was further embarrassed aboard AI180 a flight between San Francisco to Mumbai when it was discovered that cockroaches were crawling all over the aircraft. It was not the one time issue there were other such infestations reported in 2024, roaches in food trays and business class seating. The airport authorities publicly refuted the company statement that it has done a deep clean in Kolkata and this created the loss of public confidence.
Although it may not be a serious issue as engine failures, the presence of pests in cabins in aviation is viewed as a sign of failure of the fundamental operating requirements.
Lapses in hygiene also denote a general indifference to procedure, how can an airline be trusted with thorough technical checks when it cannot guarantee hygiene in a cabin?
A Pilot Community in crises
After the Ahmedabad crash 112 pilots, 51 captains and 61 first officers, had called in sick on June 16, an abrupt mass call in that the government labelled as a “minor increase.” However, to the aviation professionals and was not a protest since it was done in silence, a coping skill of trauma, and a telltale of falling self-reliance. Already pilots are employees of a stressful industry and as such they need solid institutional backing following a tragedy. What seems to be worse is the callousness of the management response of Air India in adding to the emotional strain. An unmotivated pilot fraternity is a direct aerospace hazard — exhausted, anxiety and demotivated personnel can make decisions in situations of instant peril.
Red Flags in Regulation
According to an audit undertaken by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on July 29, Air India has 51 grave violations pertaining to safety concerns such as unauthorized simulators, flaws in 787 and 777 training, poor roistering and incomplete positions of chief pilot in the fleets of A320 and A350. There were seven ones that were so serious that they had to be resolved within a day. These are damaging findings in that they reveal a culture of cost cutting corners in compliance, training and oversight. These weaknesses in the aviation context cannot simply be termed bureaucratic shortfalls because they lead directly to accidents. The deadline of the DGCA is short on fixing Air India but the bigger point is whether the management of Air India can implement lasting reforms and willing to do so.
Crisis to Collapse?
A combination of mechanical breakdowns, safety lapses, regulatory noncompliance and a frustrated workforce would paint a picture of an airline that is terminating in the abyss.
The issues that Air India faces do not reside in a single department, but they extend to such departments as engineering, operation, human resource and corporate governance.
The similarities to the chronic problems of the Indian Air Force, old gear, inadequately funded maintenance and poor morale — are telling. The two institutions are burdened by legacy and chained up by institutional inefficiency and bureaucracy.
The Reform Need of Radicalism
Air India cannot survive anymore only to fight with the public relation management or just some surface clean up. It needs its structure reformed, open safety checks, external inquiry into accidents, fleet maintenance regulations that are updated and a total reorganization of pilot welfare policies. Government being the owner of the airline cannot afford to keep Air India as a heritage item and devoid of responsibility. Whether the airline was failing is no longer the issue, the question is how long before India can also afford the price of that failure in blood, image and national integrity. Unless there is an attempt to turn back, From Runway to Ruin could not only be a piece of news but rather could be the epitaph of Air India.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article are exclusively those of the author and do not reflect the official stance, policies, or perspectives of the Platform.
