Air India's Aging Fleet Raises Safety Concerns Amid Ahmedabad Plane Crash

Air India's recent plane crash in Ahmedabad has sparked questions about the safety of its aging fleet. The ill-fated aircraft was 11 years old, and 70 of the airline's planes are over a decade old. This raises concerns about the maintenance and airworthiness of these aircraft. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has no guidelines specifying a lifespan for aircraft in India, with only the requirement that they be maintained according to the manufacturer's schedule. This lack of regulation has led to a significant portion of Air India's fleet being over 10 years old, with 37% of its planes in this category.

Key Takeaways:

Air India's fleet has an average age of around 10 years, with 70 planes being more than a decade old.
43 Air India aircraft are over 15 years old, and 27 are between 10 and 15 years old.
59 Air India aircraft are between 5 and 10 years old, and 69 are less than five years old.
The government has clarified that there is no guideline for the lifespan of an aircraft in India, with the DGCA only requiring maintenance as per the manufacturer's schedule.
IndiGo operates the most aircraft at 319, but with a much younger fleet, with 283 planes less than five years old.
Indigo has only 23 aircraft more than a decade old and 97 between 5 and 10 years old.

Statistics:

70 of Air India's aircraft are over a decade old.
37% of Air India's fleet is over 10 years old.
43 Air India aircraft are over 15 years old.
27 Air India aircraft are between 10 and 15 years old.
59 Air India aircraft are between 5 and 10 years old.
69 Air India aircraft are less than five years old.
283 of Indigo's aircraft are less than five years old.
23 of Indigo's aircraft are more than a decade old.
97 of Indigo's aircraft are between 5 and 10 years old.

Sources:

Government data presented in the Parliament, March 2023.
News article by Diligent Media Corporation Ltd., DNA (Daily News & Analysis), 2010. Distributed by Contify.com.