Акаса Эйр зафиксировала 151 технический дефект: авиакомпания объясняет рост высокой дисциплиной обслуживания

Akasa Air reported 151 “significant defects” in domestic operations in the first six months of 2026, almost three times IndiGo’s 44 and over four times Air India’s 36, despite operating a much smaller and younger fleet. At first glance, the numbers contained in data presented by the civil aviation ministry in Parliament appear to raise questions about Akasa’s technical performance. But they also raise a more fundamental question: what exactly do “significant defects” capture and can the numbers across airlines be compared without understanding how individual carriers maintain, record and report technical issues? Akasa founder and CEO Vinay Dube said interpreting the numbers as safety violations would be misleading. “These aren’t safety violations. It’s an absolutely gross misnomer, in fact it is the opposite of that,” Dube told Moneycontrol. The data was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on August 3 by minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol in response to questions about the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA's) surveillance of safety violations and technical defects. The distinction is important. The government’s response lists airline-wise “significant defects”, while separately providing information on regulatory enforcement arising from safety violations. According to Dube, a significant number of Akasa’s reported cases involve components being changed proactively as part of the airline’s maintenance process rather than components failing during operations. “For instance, if we decide preflight that we want to change a component, we record that and when the government asks we report that we have changed this component,” he said. That means a higher number of reported significant defects does not necessarily translate into a higher incidence of safety violations. The numbers can also be influenced by how an airline approaches preventive maintenance and records and reports such interventions. Numbers show divergence Between January and June 2026, Akasa reported 151 significant "defects" in domestic operations and one in international operations. Air India Express reported 51 domestic and two international "significant defects", while IndiGo reported 44 domestic and three international. Air India reported 36 domestic and 10 international "significant defects", while SpiceJet reported seven domestic and two international. The differences become more pronounced when fleet sizes are considered. IndiGo had 432 aircraft at the end of June and Air India between 190 and 220 aircraft. Akasa operated just over 40 aircraft. “We are operating only 40 aircraft as against someone operating 400. This is why the context is extremely important,” Dube said. Akasa’s relatively young fleet makes the numbers particularly noteworthy. The airline began operations in August 2022 and has expanded rapidly since then. Earlier this month, it said it had become the first Indian carrier to induct more than 40 aircraft in such a short period. A younger fleet would ordinarily be expected to face fewer age-related technical problems. But that does not necessarily mean every airline will generate the same number of reported significant defects, particularly if maintenance and reporting practices differ. Dube attributed Akasa’s numbers partly to its approach to preventive maintenance. “One is the fact that we are doing predictive maintenance and changing components prior to their failure,” he said. Under such an approach, components identified for replacement can be changed before they fail in service. If such interventions are recorded within the significant-defect data, an airline carrying out more proactive replacements could potentially report a higher number without necessarily having a poorer safety record. Dube said Akasa therefore viewed the numbers as a reflection of its maintenance discipline rather than a weakness in safety. “I am extremely happy with this statistic because it is reflective of our reliability that we have one of the highest technical dispatch reliabilities in the world,” he said. Dube declined to comment on whether other airlines report comparable component changes in the same manner. “I cannot make a statement on other airlines,” he said. Air India and IndiGo did not respond to Moneycontrol’s questionnaires seeking comments on the reporting of significant defects and component changes at the time of publication. Previous years’ figures also show considerable variation among airlines. Akasa reported 143 domestic "significant defects" in 2023, 243 in 2024 and 195 in 2025. Air India reported 119, 197 and 313, respectively, while IndiGo reported 87, 75 and 86. The numbers show why absolute significant-defect counts need context before they are used to compare the technical or safety performance of different airlines. Violations tracked separately The government separately provided data on regulatory enforcement for safety violations. It told Parliament that DGCA issued 382 show-cause notices to airlines for safety violations between January 2024 and June 2026. Enforcement action can include financial penalties, suspension of approvals or authorisations, and warnings. DGCA has also conducted a Comprehensive Special Audit at major airports covering flight operations, airworthiness, aircraft maintenance, ground handling, ramp safety, aerodrome operations and air traffic management among other areas. The regulator found non-compliances and procedural deficiencies involving airlines, maintenance organisations, ground handlers and airport operators. Air India, for instance, has faced regulatory action, including a Rs 1 crore penalty for operating aircraft that did not meet applicable certification requirements, along with action over unapproved crew rostering. SpiceJet has also been placed under heightened surveillance following recurring technical and maintenance-related issues. Such regulatory action is distinct from the airline-wise significant-defect numbers contained in the government’s parliamentary response. That distinction is central to interpreting the data. A reported significant defect is not, by itself, evidence that an airline committed a safety violation. Conversely, regulatory non-compliance can trigger enforcement independently of the absolute number of significant defects reported by an airline. The Akasa numbers, therefore, raise a broader question about what conclusions can be drawn from airline-wise significant-defect statistics without further context. For passengers looking only at the headline numbers, the contrast is striking: an airline operating just over 40 aircraft reported substantially more domestic significant defects than airlines with fleets several times its size. Akasa’s explanation, however, is that at least part of that number reflects components being identified and changed before failure through predictive maintenance. The issue, therefore, is not simply why Akasa reported 151 "significant defects". It is whether airline-wise numbers, without greater clarity on what is included in them and how consistently such events are classified and reported across carriers, provide enough information to make meaningful comparisons about airline safety. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated! Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend. 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