- The findings come at a time when airlines are under renewed scrutiny following the Air India crash
- 57 lapses were found at Alliance Air and 51 at Air India
- The IndiGo audit revealed 23 lapses while the Air India Express audit revealed 25
The annual audits by India's aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), have found 57 lapses at Alliance Air and 51 at Air India, among other airlines, highlighting a lack of adequate training for some pilots, use of unapproved simulators and a poor rostering system.
The aviation watchdog said in a note that during such audits "for airlines with extensive operations and large fleet sizes, a higher number of audit findings is entirely normal".
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) noted that the high number of findings in such cases typically reflects the scale and quantum of the airline's operations rather than indicating "unusual lapses".
The findings come at a time when airlines are under renewed scrutiny following the Air India crash in Ahmedabad, in which over 260 people were killed.
The audit report identified seven 'Level 1' lapses that must be addressed by July 30, along with 44 other non-compliance issues that are required to be resolved by August 23.
Among the other airlines, 23 lapses were found at IndiGo, the country's largest operator by market share, 25 at Air India Express, 17 at Tata SIA Airlines and 14 at SpiceJet.
The airlines are formally notified of these audit results and are mandated to submit timely compliance and corrective action reports. The regulatory body then closely monitors the implementation of these measures to ensure that the identified safety gaps are effectively addressed. This structured feedback loop, the DGCA said, reinforces a culture of accountability and improvement across airline operations.
Air India, in a statement, said that all airlines undergo regular audits to test and continuously strengthen processes. "Air India's annual DGCA audit took place in July, during which it was fully transparent with auditors in the spirit of such continuous improvement," it said.
The airline added that it will submit its response to the regulator within the stipulated timeframe, along with details of corrective actions taken.
