Technical faults experienced by domestic flights dropped from 0.09% to 0.02% in past 5 years

New Delhi: Technical faults experienced by planes operated by domestic airlines have come down from 0.09 per cent to 0.02 per cent in the past five years, the Ministry of Civil Aviation informed the Parliament.

There were 525 incidents (0.09 per cent) of planes developing technical snags in 2018 when 5.49 lakh flight services were conducted, which came down to 273 (0.02 per cent) out of 10.69 lakh services this year till November 27, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol told Lok Sabha.

The details provided through a written reply to questions raised by Congress MP Imran Masood showed that the incidents of technical snags increased in 2021 and 2022 but it started decreasing in 2023.

In 2021, there were 550 incidents (0.074 per cent) out of 7.33 lakh services, which rose to 723 incidents (0.072 per cent) out of 9.97 lakh services, in 2022.

However last year, it declined to 390 incidents (0.03 per cent) even when the flight services were close to 12 lakh.

“During aircraft operations, technical snags may be experienced. These may be due to improper functioning or malfunction of components or system or accessories fitted on the aircraft,” Mohol said.

He said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has laid down regulations under Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), which requires that the aircraft is maintained in accordance with the manufacturer and the regulator’s guidelines and all technical issues reported on the aircraft are rectified before the aircraft is released for flight.

Airlines are required to ensure that the aircraft are maintained in a continuous state of airworthiness and all technical issues are rectified, he said.

“In case of violations, the DGCA takes enforcement action in accordance with laid down procedures which may consist of warning, suspension, cancellation including imposition of financial penalty to the personnel involved/ airline,” the minister added.