New Delhi/ Mumbai, Dec 28 (PTI) The Indian aviation will hope for less turbulence and long-term solutions in 2026 after a year of disasters and disruptions that not only snuffed out lives of 260 people
but also massively impacted travel plans of thousands of people towards the fag end with IndiGo flight cancellations as well as air traffic control woes.
As the New Year dawns, aviation stakeholders as well as the common people will be looking for the much-awaited probe report into the AI171 plane crash on June 12, 2025 apart from more safe helicopter operations, especially in the Kedarnath valley, and less steep fluctuation in air ticket prices.
While airfare caps became a recurring theme in 2026, airlines continued to bleed with airspace closures and network disruptions even as the duopolistic-domestic market witnessed expansion of air connectivity.
On the positive side, Navi Mumbai International Airport commenced operations on December 25, and the Noida International Airport will be open for flights from January 2026. And new airlines are likely to take wings.
IndiGo's massive operational disruptions, mainly caused by inadequate planning in implementing the new set of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, resulted in thousands of flight cancellations and caused hardships to passengers.
The fiasco triggered a high-level probe, watchdog DGCA reducing the airline's winter scheduled by 10 per cent apart from issuing show cause notices to CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras. Besides, the crisis highlighted the apparent duopoly where IndiGo (65 per cent) and Air India Group (26 per cent) account for over 90 per cent of the domestic airlines segment, a scenario that has also prompted competition watchdog DGCA to look into alleged unfair business ways of IndiGo.
The DGCA-constituted panel has submitted its probe report and now the wait is for the actions that will follow.
The year ends on a grey note for IndiGo, which otherwise significantly expanded its overseas network to places like London, Amsterdam and Copenhagen apart from playing host for the annual meet of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in the national capital, an event that returned to India after more than four decades.
In what will remain as a dark chapter in the Indian aviation history, a London Gatwick-bound Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft crashed soon after takeoff from the Ahmedabad airport on June 12 killing 260 people, including 241 on board and 19 on the ground. One passenger miraculously escaped the inferno.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in its preliminary report released on July 12, had said the fuel supply to both engines of the plane was cut off within a gap of one second, causing confusion in the cockpit soon after takeoff.
"In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so," it had said.
With concerns and speculations persisting on the cause of the crash ranging from pilot fault to aircraft issues and even questions about AAIB investigation, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, in October, asserted that there is no manipulation or dirty business happening in the investigation. "It is a very clean and very thorough process that we are doing according to the rules".
On the other hand, Air India's ambitious turnaround plans hit road bumps due to multiple issues, including global supply chain woes. The Air India group is set to welcome its first Boeing 737 and Boeing 787-9 in the coming days.
Till July end, there were eight air accidents that killed 274 people in the country. These include A171 crash, three trainee aircraft and four helicopter accidents.
The chopper crashes this year continued to put the spotlight on the risky operations in Kedarnath and hilly terrains, with authorities working on ways to minimise the risk elements.
Meanwhile, flight services were significantly disrupted due to airspace closures during Operation Sindoor in May and the India-Pakistan conflict also saw both countries shutting their airspaces for each other's flights. Air India's operational costs have gone up with Pakistan airspace closure as the Tata Group-owned airline is taking longer routes for some European cities and North American destinations.
And in early November, Delhi airport, the country's busiest airport, faced air traffic control system that delayed more than 800 flights. The issue also highlighted the need for technological and infrastructure upgrades at a time when traffic numbers are on the rise.
In late November, software charges were carried out on 323 operational A320 family planes by Indian carriers to address a potential issue related to flight controls and the development had also resulted in some flight disruptions.
This year, airlines, including Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo and Akasa Air, faced regulatory heat, including penalties and strictures, for various lapses.
Despite being one of the world's fastest growing domestic aviation markets, airlines continued to face headwinds and regional carrier FlyBig suspended operations in October.
In recent times, there have also been instances of GPS spoofing and interference incidents at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai airports.
Staying with airports, regulator AERA came out with a multi-tiered user charge system for airports as part of efforts to have a streamlined tariff card.
A change of guard at key positions happened in 2025, with new Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha and DGCA DG Faiz Ahmed Kidwai taking charge.
Skies in 2026
* The most anticipated piece will be the final report on the fatal A171 plane crash that will help put rest to speculations around whether pilots or Boeing aircraft issues or other reasons led to the disaster.
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Pilot fatigue, need for more manpower and stabilisation in implementation of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms will assume significance as airlines seek to expand their networks.
* New airlines are expected to take to the skies and existing carriers are set to fly new routes.
* Global supply chain woes are expected to continue forcing airlines to press ahead with plane retrofits and more maintenance works.
* Deployment of more wide-body aircraft, long range A321 XLR planes, new airports as well as more clarity of lingering airport charges will provide more tailwinds to the country's aviation sector.
As the International Air Transport Association (IATA) puts it, India, which has historically been a challenging market for airlines to succeed, has all the ingredients to become a fantastic market. PTI RAM IAS ANU
ANU
