Air India Confronts 51 ‘Training Gaps’ Identified in DGCA Safety Review

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India has identified 51 significant “recurrent training gaps” at Air India during their audit conducted in July 2025. Concerns include inadequate pilot training, usage of unauthorized simulators, and an ineffective rostering system.

This detailed 11-page audit was reviewed on July 29, 2025, involving 10 DGCA inspectors and four additional auditors. While the audit is not linked to the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171 in June 2025, which resulted in 260 fatalities, it does place the airline under scrutiny as investigations continue.

Critical Safety Violations and Other Issues

The audit highlighted seven major “Level I” safety violations that must be rectified by July 30, 2025, along with an additional 44 compliance issues needing attention by August 23, 2025. A noteworthy concern involved some pilots of the Boeing 787 and 777 who had not fulfilled their required monitoring roles before scheduled evaluations.

Furthermore, the report indicated that Air India failed to perform adequate “route assessments” for certain Category C airports and did not use qualified simulators for training at these airfields. This lack of preparation may overlook safety risks during approaches to challenging airports, as stated in the DGCA audit.

Concerns Over Crew Rostering and Safety Protocols

The inspectors also raised alarms regarding the airline’s rostering system, noting that it does not adequately alert when the minimum number of crew members are not assigned to a flight. Additionally, discrepancies were found in “door checks and equipment checks” compared to established procedures, alongside gaps in training documentation.

In response, Air India maintained that it was “fully transparent” throughout the audit process. The airline committed to submitting a comprehensive response to the regulator in due time, including details on the corrective measures to be taken.

Despite the DGCA audit not being linked to the AI171 incident, safety concerns surrounding the airline have heightened since the crash. Following the incident, Air India reported completing precautionary inspections of the fuel control switches on its Boeing 787 and 737 fleets, claiming to have found “no issues” with the locking mechanisms. Investigators had noted that the switches on the aircraft involved in the crash were discovered in the “cutoff” position.