Federation of Indian Pilots demand grounding of AI’s 787 fleet:Pilot body seeks audit of Boeing’s Dreamliner by DGCA following recent cases of technical malfunctions

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has urged the Ministry of Civil Aviation to immediately ground all of Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft following two serious malfunctions reported within a week. In a letter to Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu, FIP President Captain CS Randhawa called for a comprehensive probe into the aircraft’s electrical systems and a special safety audit of Air India by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The FIP, which represents over 5,000 pilots across India, said the airline’s Dreamliners have shown “repeated malfunctions, particularly after maintenance by new engineers.” Two Boeing 787 incidents in one week October 9 – Vienna-Delhi Flight Diverted to Dubai:Air India flight AI154, traveling from Vienna to Delhi, was diverted to Dubai due to a technical fault. The airline later confirmed that all passengers were safe and the aircraft was cleared for re-takeoff after inspection. According to sources, the autopilot, ILS, flight directors, and flight control system had failed during the journey. October 4 – Emergency Landing on Amritsar-Birmingham Flight:Five days earlier, flight AI117 (Boeing Dreamliner 787-8) operating between Amritsar and Birmingham made an emergency landing at Birmingham Airport after its Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployed automatically during descent. Air India confirmed that all passengers and crew were unharmed. FIP raises long-standing concerns The pilots’ federation said the ‘repetitive snags and MEL (Minimum Equipment List) releases’ must be thoroughly investigated to ensure passenger safety. It also linked its renewed demand to the June 2025 Air India crash (AI171) from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, which killed 270 people, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Since that crash, FIP has repeatedly sought a system-wide inspection of Boeing 787s, citing “recurring electrical and maintenance failures” as an ongoing concern.