Air India officials who allowed an aircraft to operate with an expired airworthiness certificate have been de-rostered pending a probe by India’s aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and the Tata group airline was instructed to ground that aircraft, the regulator said Tuesday. Air India is also conducting an internal investigation into the matter on the DGCA’s instructions to identify deficiencies in its systems and put corrective measures in place.
The aircraft—an Airbus A320 bearing registration VT-TQN—operated eight commercial flights on an expired Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC), before Air India voluntarily informed the DGCA about the gaffe on November 26, the DGCA said. Air India expressed regret over the incident, adding that it suspended all personnel involved in the decision to operate the aircraft while its ARC was not valid. Following the tragic crash of Air India flight AI 171 in Ahmedabad on June 12, the carrier has been at the receiving end of a number of regulatory actions by the DGCA, a number of which were a result of voluntary disclosures by the airline.
According to flight tracking data, the three-year-old aircraft—which earlier flew with Vistara—last operated a flight on November 25, which suggests that it was grounded immediately following Air India’s disclosure to the regulator. The data also shows that the aircraft operated eight flights on November 24-25. Before that, it was under maintenance for a month, having operated its last flight on a valid ARC on October 24. Operating an aircraft on a lapsed airworthiness license is typically categorised as a serious safety lapse.
Usually, Air India issues ARCs for the aircraft it operates under delegated authority. These are issued by Air India’s in-house Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO). But in view of Vistara’s merger into Air India in November last year, it was decided that the DGCA, and not Air India, will do the first ARC renewal for all 70 aircraft that were in Vistara’s fleet.
The ARC is issued annually after a comprehensive review of the aircraft’s maintenance records, physical condition, and verification of compliance with all airworthiness standards. It acts as a validation of the aircraft’s main Certificate of Airworthiness.
“Till date ARC for all the sixty-nine aircraft has been issued by the DGCA after satisfactory compliance by operator (Air India). In respect of the seventieth aircraft, the operator filed application with the DGCA and subsequently the aircraft was grounded for the engine change. During this period the ARC expired, however the aircraft was released for service after engine change,” the regulator said.
“On 26.11.2025 operator informed DGCA about the flying of the aircraft on the expired ARC for eight revenue sectors. DGCA has instituted investigation and instructed the operator to ground the aircraft. ARC process is in progress. Concerned personnel have been de-rostered with immediate effect pending investigation. Air India on the instructions of DGCA is carrying out internal investigation to identify deficiencies in their system and put corrective measures in place to prevent such failures from occurring in future,” the DGCA added.
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“Air India remains unwavering in its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of operational integrity and safety, and any deviation from mandated compliance protocols is treated with utmost seriousness and is unacceptable to the organisation. An incident involving one of our aircraft operating without an airworthiness review certificate is regrettable. As soon as this came to our notice, it was duly reported to the DGCA, and all personnel involved in the decision have been suspended pending further review. We have initiated a comprehensive internal investigation and are fully cooperating with the regulator,” an Air India spokesperson said.
In September, Air India CEO said in a message to staff that in the aftermath of the AI 171 crash, the airline was being “more transparent than usual” when it came to reporting incidents and events—no matter how small—with its aircraft, which has resulted in a perception of increased incidents.
“When the spotlight is on us, it’s crucial to offer timely, clear and accurate information and the right context. So over recent weeks we have been even more transparent than usual in reporting incidents and events, however small. This transparency will, over time, help build trust. In the short term though, it naturally results in an uptick of news coverage, and with more than 1,200 departures every single day—nearly one every minute—across the Air India Group, it can seem like a lot,” Wilson had said.
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