The government informed Parliament that several aircraft operated by scheduled airlines were flagged during safety checks carried out by the aviation regulator. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said this in a written reply to questions in the Lok Sabha, outlining the findings from inspections conducted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
According to the data shared, IndiGo accounted for the highest number of aircraft flagged, with 148 aircraft out of 405 examined. Air India followed with 137 aircraft flagged out of 166, while Air India Express had 54 out of 101 aircraft identified during checks. Other carriers also featured in the findings, though on a smaller scale.
SpiceJet had 16 aircraft flagged from 43 analysed, while Akasa Air reported 14 aircraft out of 32. Alliance Air recorded eight aircraft flagged, highlighting that safety observations were spread across both legacy and newer airlines operating in the country.
In a separate reply, the minister said that 353 technical faults were reported on flights in 2025. However, he noted that the overall number of technical faults has declined steadily over the past three years, indicating gradual improvement in maintenance and operational reliability across the sector.
During 2025, the DGCA conducted extensive oversight activities, including 3,890 surveillance inspections, 56 regulatory audits, 84 Surveillance of Foreign Aircraft (SOFA) checks and 492 ramp inspections. Unplanned oversight included 874 spot checks and 550 night surveillance operations, reinforcing continuous monitoring of airline compliance.
The Lok Sabha was also informed about large-scale flight cancellations by IndiGo, which cancelled 6,936 flights over the past three months, affecting more than 1.08 million passengers. The government attributed the disruptions to operational over-optimisation, software gaps, management weaknesses and adverse weather, and directed the airline to take corrective measures, assist passengers, and ensure refunds and compensation as per aviation regulations.