'Ground All Air India Boeing 787s': Pilots’ Body Urges DGCA Amid Repeated Technical Issues in Aircraft, Air India Clarifies

New Delhi: The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has written to Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, seeking the immediate grounding of all Air India Boeing 787 aircraft, citing repeated

electrical failures.They have also demanded a special DGCA audit after today’s Vienna–Delhi flight was diverted to Dubai following major autopilot and system malfunctions.In a letter titled "Grounding of all B-787 in the light of continuous electrical problems and special DGCA audit of Air India aircraft for maintenance", the pilots’ body said that after the crash of Air India’s Ahmedabad–London AI-171 flight, there have been many failures on Air India aircraft. The safety of air travel is being compromised by not investigating the causes of failures on B-787s in the country. “We once again appeal to the Minister to now ground all the B-787s of Air India, and these aircraft be thoroughly checked—especially the electrical systems.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls-n8ks5ATM

The pilots’ body also urged the aviation regulator, saying, "DGCA should carry out a special audit of all B-787s, and these aircraft be checked thoroughly as the failures are increasing day by day, thus seriously affecting air safety. Two incidents of electrical malfunctions in a short span of time are indicators of poor serviceability by Air India. The incidents have been on the rise since the time newly hired Air India engineers have been maintaining the aircraft. The problems were much less when AIESL was looking after maintenance of Air India aircraft."Listing recent incidents of technical glitches and electrical failures in Air India, the pilots’ body advised DGCA to refer to all their previous correspondence regarding technical malfunctions, including the crash of AI-171.The pilots' body said that since June 16, 2025, they have reiterated that all B-787s in the country must be checked thoroughly for electrical systems.Highlighting a recent technical issue with Air India flight AI-154 from Vienna to Delhi, they said that the plane was diverted to Dubai due to major technical issues, where the autopilot system suddenly failed, triggering a series of technical malfunctions."The aircraft experienced failures across critical systems, which included autopilots, ILS (Instrument Landing System), flight directors (FDs), and flight control system degradation with no autoland capability. The pilots could not engage the autopilots due to electrical malfunctions, and were thus constrained to fly manually at night and divert to Dubai," the pilots' body said.However, Air India issued a clarification on electrical failure on AI-154 flight saying, "AI-154 operating from Vienna to Delhi on October 9 was diverted to Dubai due to a technical issue. The aircraft landed safely at Dubai and underwent necessary checks.""All passengers were kept informed of the delay, provided refreshments and the flight, operated by the same aircraft, departed Dubai at 8:45 AM IST and landed in Delhi at 12:19 PM IST. At Air India, the safety of passengers and crew remain top priority. Air India categorically denies any assertion that there was an electrical failure in the said aircraft," Air India spokesperson said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzecnbRGMM0

The Federation of Indian Pilots' listed another incident which took place on October 4, when the RAT was deployed on AI-117 aircraft while on approach at BHX.

Key suggestions made by the pilots’ body to DGCA:

• Thoroughly investigate both the recent incidents of AI-117 and AI-154
• Ground all Air India B-787s and have them thoroughly checked for their electrical systems and other repetitive snags
• Order a special audit of Air India, to be conducted by senior staff from FSD, Air Safety, and Airworthiness divisions of DGCA
• Check MEL releases and repetitive snags on the aircraft, especially the B-787s.