Air India Crash: 24 Dreamliners Cleared Checks; No Major Safety Concerns, Says DGCA

An inspection by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation into Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet found the aircraft to be compliant with safety standards —just days after a deadly crash that claimed at least 270 lives.

"The recent surveillance conducted on Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet did not reveal any major safety concerns," the country's aviation safety watchdog said in a statement on Tuesday. "The aircraft and associated maintenance systems were found to be compliant with existing safety standards."

On June 12, an Air India-operated Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed in Ahmedabad soon after takeoff and killed all but one of the 242 people on board and at least 33 on ground.

Following the accident, the DGCA tasked Air India to run additional checks on its Dreamliner fleet. Of the 33 aircraft, 24 have cleared the inspection.

Two aircraft are planned for completion on Tuesday, with one more scheduled for tomorrow. The remaining six aircraft include two which are presently grounded in Delhi. The checks on these two will be carried out post-declaration of serviceability and prior to their return to service, while rest of the four aircraft will undergo the mandated check prior to their release from the respective maintenance hangars, the DGCA said.

In a meeting held with key executives from Air India and Air India Express, the DGCA also reviewed the operational robustness of the carriers amid increasing flight volumes, with a focus on the Boeing 787 aircraft which form the backbone of Air India’s long-haul network.

The regulator flagged maintenance-related issues, particularly around the availability of spare parts and internal coordination between engineering, ground handling, and operations teams. The DGCA advised Air India to strengthen these areas to mitigate flight delays and "strictly adhere to regulations". Since the crash, the airline cancelled 66 flights to be operated with Boeing 787.

The regulator also recommended the implementation of a more systematic and real-time defect reporting to improve safety oversight.

Moreover, the impact of recent airspace closures, particularly over Iranian airspace that led to flight diversions, delays, and cancellations, was also reviewed by the regulator. "The operators have been asked to ensure timely communication with passengers and crew and adopt alternate routing strategies to minimise disruptions," the DGCA said.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is central to Air India’s global ambitions, operating on key routes to Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia.