Instead, the story is increasingly looking like a reputational liability. The latest warning from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency is only the most recent sign of trouble. Surprise inspections of AI aircraft at European airports reportedly found several safety deficiencies, pushing the airline’s fault ratio close to the threshold that could invite enhanced scrutiny or even operational restrictions in Europe.
India’s aviation regulator has already stepped in with corrective measures to prevent potential consequences in a key international market. Coming on the heels of the airline’s recent crises, the message is hard to ignore: Air India’s problems are no longer episodic—they appear systemic.
Crash of Flight 171 in June 2025
The most traumatic blow came with the crash of Flight 171 in June 2025, a tragedy that shattered the narrative of a turnaround that the Tata group had been carefully constructing around the airline. Even outside that catastrophe, troubling signals keep surfacing.
Technical incidents—including engine oil and fuel leaks—reached a 14-month high earlier this year, according to internal airline data. Regulators have repeatedly flagged deficiencies in crew training, fatigue management, and operational procedures. An audit last year reportedly found more than 50 safety lapses, ranging from training gaps to documentation failures.
These are not minor teething troubles. Equally damaging is the everyday experience of passengers. Social media is replete with images of torn seat cushions, malfunctioning entertainment screens, and delayed flights. Such issues reinforce a perception that the airline has yet to shake off the culture of neglect inherited from decades of state ownership.
A brief history of Air India
To be fair, the Tata group inherited a deeply troubled institution. When the government sold AI, it was effectively passing on an airline hollowed out by years of bureaucratic inertia and chronic underinvestment in maintenance and service. Rebuilding such an organisation was never going to be quick or easy.
But the passage of time is beginning to erode that defence. Four years after the takeover, expectations have shifted. What initially looked like legacy baggage now risks being interpreted as managerial failure. Massive aircraft orders, a sweeping brand overhaul, and the integration of multiple airline businesses were meant to transform the carrier into a world-class competitor.
Instead, the airline’s recurring operational embarrassments are threatening to overshadow those ambitions. For a conglomerate whose brand equity rests heavily on trust and reliability, the reputational stakes are particularly high. AI’s problems are no longer confined to aviation; they risk spilling over into perceptions of the Tata group itself.
In that sense, the airline is increasingly becoming the group’s Achilles’ heel—a single weak spot that could undermine an otherwise formidable corporate reputation. Restoring confidence will require rebuilding a safety culture, enforcing operational discipline, and, above all, delivering a consistently reliable passenger experience.
Airlines operate on trust—the trust that aircraft are maintained flawlessly, that crews are trained rigorously, and that systems function without compromise. The Tata group took back Air India partly for sentimental reasons and partly for strategic ambition. Today, sentiment alone will not rescue the airline. What will matter is execution—and the clock is ticking. India expects the Maharaja to do better.