India's aviation boom faces turbulence amid safety concerns

India's aviation boom faces turbulence against the backdrop of safety worries.

Key points

• "The last two years, 2025 and 2026, have been the darkest years for India in terms of its global reputation and credibility, " remarked Mark Martin of Martin Consulting.
• The latest blow came earlier this month when an Air India flight from Thailand's Phuket to New Delhi plunged 300 feet midair, injuring 24 passengers.
• One year ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the airline sector as a symbol of a rising India poised to "soar to great heights".
• While Air India is reportedly considering delaying deliveries of as plenty of as 500 aircraft, indiGo last month shut down its wide-body operations.
• A series of crises at India's two main carriers, Air India and IndiGo, has exposed safety and regulatory shortcomings in the world's third-largest domestic aviation market.

India's aviation boom faces turbulence against the backdrop of safety worries. AFP Published August 30, 2026 Updated August 30, 2026 04: 49pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

One year ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the airline sector as a symbol of a rising India poised to "soar to great heights". Today, that optimism is facing a harsh reality check.

Notably, a series of crises at India's two main carriers, Air India and IndiGo, has exposed safety and regulatory shortcomings in the world's third-largest domestic aviation market.

Notably, the turmoil has been compounded by geopolitical shocks that have squeezed profits and forced airlines to reassess expansion intends. The setbacks have highlighted the lack of competition, with Air India and IndiGo together accounting for nine out of 10 domestic airline seats.

In practice, the latest blow came earlier this month when an Air India flight from Thailand's Phuket to New Delhi plunged 300 feet midair, injuring 24 passengers.

For context, the incident sparked scrutiny after reports that the captain tested positive for marijuana upon landing, prompting Air India to order a one-time drug screening of all pilots. Initial findings from an investigation are projected in the coming weeks.

For plenty of observers, the episode is part of a broader pattern that has kept Air India under the spotlight since last year's crash of a London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner that killed 241 residents.

In practice, an unrelated audit of Air India identified around 100 safety lapses, including seven violations requiring "urgent corrective action" and "recurrent training gaps" for Boeing 787 and 777 pilots, according to a parliamentary panel report.

Meanwhile, the safety culture at Air India is "lax", remarked Shakti Lumba, a former airline operations chief.

"At present, everyone is paying lip service to safety. By paying lip service, you do not create a safety culture, " he informed AFP.

Former Air India executive director Jitender Bhargava remarked the noted drug case raised questions regarding management oversight, arguing the pilot community would know if a colleague was taking drugs.

Air India and IndiGo did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment. The safety reservations come as airlines grapple with mounting financial pressures.

Indian carriers have faced the closure of Pakistani airspace since tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad escalated last year, forcing longer and costlier routes.

Rising jet fuel rates linked to the Middle East war have went on to the strain.

Ratings agency ICRA estimated Indian airlines will lose almost $4 billion this fiscal year.

While IndiGo has documented losses for two consecutive quarters, air India's losses more than doubled to $2.3bn in the last fiscal year. The strain is additionally affecting expansion aims.

Notably, the turbulence marks a reversal for a sector often celebrated as one of India's biggest success stories.

Indian airlines carried regarding 167 million passengers last year, more than double the figure a decade earlier. While carriers have ordered some 1, 500 aircraft, more than 70 airports have been continued over the past decade.

"The problem has not been a lack of growth, " remarked Harsh Vardhan, chairman of Starair Consulting.

"It is that every other part of the ecosystem has not been able to keep up with this growth and manage it well."

Those reservations came to the fore last year when IndiGo cancelled substantial numbers of flights after failing to prepare for new pilot fatigue regulations.

Industry experts remarked the temporary suspension of parts of the new rest rules reflected a wider regulatory failure.

"The DGCA acts more like a facilitator than a regulator, " remarked Lumba, the former operations chief, referring to the aviation regulatory body.

Meanwhile, the dominance of Air India and IndiGo has further complicated the regulator's task.

Seven major airlines have either collapsed or been sold previously two decades, making it harder to penalise the two major remaining players.

"A duopoly works only if operators are mature, responsible and grown adults, " Martin remarked, adding that in India it more closely resembles a "bunch of territorial gangs".

Last year, authorities stated the country needed "five big airlines", and regulators have since approved intends for two new carriers.

In practice, the administration is additionally examining a proposal to relax rules preventing airport operators from owning airlines, potentially opening the door for conglomerates such as the Adani Group.

But attracting investors alone will not solve the sector's challenges, Vardhan stated.

"The cost structure has always been particularly hostile. It is one of the primary reasons new operators have not been able to create a breakthrough."

For context, the contradiction, he argued, lies at the heart of India's aviation ambitions.

"On one hand, they call it a sunshine sector. On the other, everyone is trying to ride the industry's success at the cost of profitability."

Taken together, the developments around india' s aviation boom faces turbulence amid safety concerns point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.