Air India Suspends Staff After A320 Flew Without Valid Safety Certificate

Air India has suspended the personnel responsible for allowing an Airbus A320 to operate multiple flights in November without a valid Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC), calling the lapse “regrettable” and a serious breach of safety protocols. The airline said it reported the issue to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) immediately and has launched a detailed internal investigation, assuring full cooperation with the regulator.

According to sources cited by ANI, the lapse was detected by Air India’s internal monitoring system rather than any external audit. The expired ARC meant the aircraft was flying without the mandatory annual validation of its primary Certificate of Airworthiness, which requires rigorous checks of maintenance records, physical inspections, and overall compliance.

The DGCA explained that Air India is authorised to issue ARCs for its fleet. After the Vistara–Air India merger, the regulator had taken up the first ARC renewal for all Vistara aircraft, approving 69 out of 70. For the remaining aircraft, which was grounded for an engine change, the ARC expired during maintenance but the aircraft was released into service afterward. Both Air India and the DGCA are now conducting parallel probes to determine how the aircraft was cleared to fly without a valid certificate and why the lapse wasn’t detected during the release-to-service process.

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