Air India Phuket-Delhi incident: Aviation Minister warns airlines, says safety cannot be compromised

New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued strict guidelines to all airlines following the Air India Phuket-Delhi flight incident, a CNN-News18 report citing sources said on Tuesday.

The ministry has made it clear that incidents such as the one involving Air India flight AI-2379 should not be repeated.

The move comes as the ministry steps up its focus on aviation safety and examines whether existing regulations, including those dealing with substance abuse, need to be strengthened.

Minister seeks update from Air India

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu met Air India’s outgoing CEO Campbell Wilson on Tuesday to seek a direct update on the Phuket-Delhi flight incident.

“We wanted to get a direct update from Air India also on the incident. We wanted to see how they are taking this issue from their side,” the minister said.

He reiterated that aviation safety remains the ministry’s top priority and said there could be no compromise by airlines, regulators or any other stakeholders.

“I have told time and again that from the Ministry, safety in aviation is the topmost priority. There shouldn't be any compromise from any side - even the regulators or airlines or anyone,” Naidu said.

AAIB investigation continues

Naidu said the ministry was taking the incident seriously and had spoken to the Air India chief as a preliminary step to understand the airline’s response.

However, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has been tasked with continuing the investigation.

“So, this issue we have taken very seriously from the Ministry side also. We have spoken to him as a preliminary task, just to get an update,” the minister said.

“But AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) has been given the task to continue the investigation. We have good confidence in AAIB. So, let's wait for the full-fledged report to come from AAIB so that we can see what action needs to be taken on this,” he added.

Ministry examining substance abuse rules

The minister also addressed concerns related to substance abuse or substance use and the regulations governing pilots.

He said the ministry would take the matter seriously if the investigation establishes that substance use was involved.

“But in the meantime, if it is anything related to substance abuse or substance using, I would say that from the Ministry we are taking it very seriously and if we find that there needs to be some tweaking in the existing regulation, we are ready to do that also,” Naidu said.

DGCA asked for regulatory updates

Asked about possible reforms to regulations concerning substance abuse by pilots, Naidu said the issue was being studied continuously.

The ministry has also sought updates from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as it reviews the existing framework.

“That issue we are continuously studying. We have also asked DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) for updates on that,” he said.

Naidu said the government would strengthen the regulations if the existing rules were found to be inadequate.

“We are taking it very seriously. If we feel that the present regulation is not upto the mark, we will respond to it very seriously and improve whatever needs to be done,” he said.