"PAC Meeting Turns Focus on Aviation Safety, DGCA Performance Questioned"
More than a thousand Dreamliner aircraft are currently in service worldwide. Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft are among the safest airplanes, according to Air India. This topic came up for discussion during the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting held on Tuesday, officials revealed. In fact, the PAC meeting was primarily supposed to focus on the charges being collected at airports. However, after the Air India flight that departed from Ahmedabad to London on June 12 crashed—resulting in the death of 241 out of 242 passengers—the issue of safety in Boeing Dreamliner aircraft once again became a major topic of discussion. Even after the Ahmedabad incident, problems surfaced in Boeing flights at multiple locations. At this juncture, Air India representatives expressed shock over the Ahmedabad crash and emphasized that Boeing Dreamliner aircraft are indeed safe, which has now gained importance.
Air India CEO Wilson Campbell, along with senior officials from the Civil Aviation Ministry, DGCA, and Airports Authority of India (AAI), attended the PAC meeting. Representatives from other airlines like IndiGo and Akasa Air also participated. During the meeting, MPs primarily questioned the officials about the safety measures in place. They demanded that the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) conduct an immediate audit. MPs also raised several questions about DGCA’s performance. They expressed concern over recent safety lapses that came to light. They cited the unregulated surge in airline ticket prices after the Pahalgam incident as an example of regulatory failure.
As for the safety of Boeing Dreamliner aircraft—while they generally have a good safety record, issues with batteries came to light early on during their initial manufacturing phase. Later, a whistleblower complaint accused Boeing of adopting shortcuts in the production process, raising further doubts. There have been several incidents where these planes had to make unexpected landings mid-air. However, Boeing has consistently denied these allegations. The recent Air India crash has reignited the debate over the safety of these aircraft. Airlines operating Dreamliners now appear to be taking extra precautions regarding their use.
