The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is carrying out a final round of inspections of Indian airlines ahead of a US Federal Aviation Administration assessment of India’s aviation safety oversight system. The November review will not simply examine individual airlines. It will test how effectively India’s aviation regulator monitors safety, address deficiencies and enforces corrective action.

With the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) scheduled to assess India’s civil aviation safety oversight system from November 16 to 20, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is making a final push to identify and address possible gaps in the country’s aviation safety system.

The DGCA is expected to complete another round of inspections of Indian airlines this week. While earlier inspections in August and September focused largely on major carriers, including Air India and IndiGo, the final round is expected to cover airlines across the sector.

The exercise comes at an important time for Indian aviation. The country’s airlines are expanding rapidly, adding aircraft and increasing international operations. India is also seeking to strengthen its position as a major global aviation market.

Against this background, the FAA assessment will be closely watched because its outcome could affect how Indian airlines expand their operations in the US and how closely the country's aviation safety oversight system is monitored.

What exactly is the FAA checking?

One important point is that the FAA assessment is not an audit of individual Indian airlines.

The FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme primarily examines the country's civil aviation authority. In India's case, that means the DGCA and its ability to effectively oversee the airlines operating under its jurisdiction.

The assessment looks at whether a country's aviation regulator has the laws, regulations, trained technical personnel, procedures and resources required to maintain effective safety oversight.

The FAA examines several areas, including aviation legislation, operating regulations, technical personnel and their training, aircraft and airline certification, licensing, surveillance of airlines and the regulator's ability to identify and resolve safety concerns.

In simple terms, the question is not only whether Indian airlines are operating safely. The larger question is whether India has a strong enough regulatory system to make sure airlines continue to operate safely and that problems are detected and corrected in time.

This distinction is important because a country can have airlines that maintain high safety standards while its regulatory system may still face shortcomings.

Why is the DGCA inspecting airlines before the FAA arrives?

The DGCA's inspections are therefore an important part of its preparation for the FAA assessment.

According to reports, two rounds of inspections were conducted in August and September, with particular attention given to Air India and IndiGo. Officials have indicated that some serious observations were identified during these inspections and communicated to the airlines concerned for corrective action.

The final inspection round is expected to cover all airlines.

The purpose is not simply to find problems. The DGCA also needs to demonstrate that it has a system for finding deficiencies, informing airlines, demanding corrective action and following up to ensure that the problems have actually been resolved.

That process is central to effective safety oversight.

The DGCA is also preparing responses to a detailed questionnaire from the FAA. Reports indicate that the questionnaire contains nearly 200 questions, with supporting evidence expected to accompany the regulator's responses.

This documentation could be particularly important because aviation safety oversight is not based only on assurances. Regulators must be able to show records of inspections, findings, corrective actions and follow-up.

Why does Category 1 status matter?

The FAA's IASA programme has two main ratings: Category 1 and Category 2.

Category 1 means the FAA has determined that a country's civil aviation authority complies with the safety oversight standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Category 2 means the authority does not meet those standards adequately.

India currently has Category 1 status.

For Indian airlines, maintaining this status is important because it supports their ability to operate and expand services to the US, subject to other regulatory requirements. Category 1 status also allows Indian carriers to participate in certain code-share arrangements with US airlines.

Therefore, the FAA assessment is not just a regulatory exercise. Its outcome has implications for the future growth of India's international aviation network.

India has been through a Category 2 downgrade before

India's current Category 1 status is particularly significant because the country has experienced a downgrade in the past.

India first achieved Category 1 status in 1997. However, the FAA downgraded India to Category 2 in January 2014 following an assessment that identified shortcomings in the DGCA's safety oversight system.

One of the major concerns at the time was the shortage of adequately staffed flight operations inspectors. The downgrade did not mean that Indian airlines were declared unsafe. Instead, it meant that the country's aviation regulator was not considered to be meeting the required standards for effective safety oversight. The consequences were nevertheless significant.

Indian airlines could continue their existing services to the US, but their ability to expand or change those services was restricted. Their operations were also subjected to increased FAA surveillance.

India subsequently addressed the FAA's concerns and regained Category 1 status in April 2015. The country retained that status during the next FAA assessment in 2021.

Why is India being assessed again?

India's Category 1 status does not mean that the country will never be reassessed.

The FAA uses a risk-based process to determine which countries require reassessment. It reviews safety information and conducts risk analysis, including for countries that already hold Category 1 status.

India's rapid growth as an aviation market makes effective regulatory oversight increasingly important.

The country is adding aircraft at a significant pace, airlines are expanding international networks and new aviation infrastructure is being developed. More aircraft and more flights also mean a larger regulatory responsibility for the DGCA. At the same time, concerns have previously been raised about regulatory manpower, including the availability of technical personnel and inspectors.

Another issue that could receive attention is the country's institutional structure. A recent committee has recommended converting the DGCA into an independent and financially autonomous aviation authority. Such a reform could potentially strengthen regulatory capacity, particularly as the Indian aviation sector becomes larger and more complex.

Air India and IndiGo inspections are significant

The particular focus on Air India and IndiGo in the earlier inspection rounds also reflects their importance to India's aviation expansion.

Both airlines have significant and growing operations, while Air India is rebuilding and expanding its fleet and international network following the Tata Group's consolidation of its aviation businesses. IndiGo, meanwhile, has been rapidly expanding its international footprint and has been adding long-haul services.

For a regulator, larger fleets and expanding networks mean more aircraft, more flight operations, more crew and maintenance activities, and more areas requiring continuous surveillance.

The challenge for the DGCA is therefore not simply to inspect airlines once. It needs to demonstrate that its oversight remains effective as the industry grows.

What about the Air India AI171 investigation?

The FAA assessment could also bring attention to India's broader safety oversight and accident-investigation processes. Former DGCA joint director general JS Rawat has suggested that the FAA could seek documentation related to investigations being conducted by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), including the investigation into the Air India AI171 crash.

The quality, completeness and transparency of safety documentation can matter because accident investigations are an important part of the aviation safety system.

However, it is important to distinguish between an accident investigation and regulatory oversight. The AAIB is responsible for investigating accidents, while the DGCA is responsible for regulating and overseeing civil aviation safety.

The FAA's larger concern will be whether India's overall aviation safety system is capable of identifying risks, responding to safety findings and preventing recurrence.

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Could India lose Category 1 status?

A Category 2 finding is possible if the FAA determines that India's safety oversight system does not meet the required standards. That could happen if the regulator is found to have shortcomings in areas such as technical expertise, staffing, inspector training, regulatory guidance, airline surveillance, documentation or enforcement.

However, a Category 2 rating would not automatically mean that Indian airlines are unsafe. The issue would be the capability of the country's regulatory authority to effectively oversee those airlines.

This distinction is important for ordinary passengers. The FAA assessment is essentially asking whether the regulator has the systems and resources necessary to ensure that safety standards are properly implemented and continuously monitored.

What could a Category 2 rating mean for Indian airlines?

The biggest concern would be the impact on India's ability to expand aviation services to the US. Under Category 2, Indian airlines could face restrictions on expanding or changing their US operations. Existing operations could also come under greater FAA scrutiny. There could also be implications for code-share arrangements involving US airlines.

For an Indian aviation sector that is increasingly looking towards international expansion, this could become a significant constraint. Indian airlines are investing heavily in wide-body aircraft, long-haul networks and new international routes. Any regulatory restrictions affecting their ability to grow in the US market would therefore have commercial implications as well. The bigger issue is India's regulatory capacity

Beyond the November assessment itself, the FAA review highlights a larger challenge for India's aviation sector. India's airline industry is growing much faster and becoming much more complex. Airlines are placing large aircraft orders, opening new international routes and expanding operations across regions.

For this growth to remain sustainable, regulatory capacity has to grow alongside the industry. That means having enough trained inspectors, keeping regulations updated, conducting effective surveillance, maintaining proper documentation and ensuring that airlines act promptly when deficiencies are identified.

It also means ensuring that the regulator has sufficient independence, financial resources and technical expertise to perform its role effectively. The recommendation to make the DGCA an independent and financially autonomous authority is therefore relevant to the broader discussion about India's aviation growth.

November assessment will be a test of India's safety oversight system

The FAA assessment from November 16 to 20 will ultimately provide an important test of India's aviation regulatory system. The DGCA's current inspections, its responses to the FAA questionnaire and the evidence it provides will all form part of the larger picture.

India has already demonstrated that it can address regulatory concerns and regain Category 1 status after the 2014 downgrade. The challenge now is to show that the improvements made since then have been sustained and strengthened even as the country's aviation industry has expanded rapidly.

For passengers, airlines and the government, the objective is therefore bigger than simply retaining a rating.

A strong FAA assessment would reinforce confidence in India's aviation safety oversight at a time when the country is positioning itself as one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets. Conversely, any significant shortcomings would serve as a reminder that rapid airline and airport expansion must be matched by equally strong regulatory capacity.

In that sense, the November assessment will be a test not just of the DGCA's present capabilities, but of whether India's aviation safety oversight system is ready for the scale of growth the country is now targeting.