**Executive Summary**
This document is the answer provided by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation to Unstarred Question No. 1123 in the Lok Sabha, scheduled for February 5th, 2026. The question pertains to technical faults in flights, measures taken to reduce them, flight delays/cancellations, and high air ticket prices. The document details government actions and oversight mechanisms related to these issues.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Technical Faults in Flights:**
* The number of technical faults reported in flights has decreased over the past three years: 448 in 2023, 421 in 2024, and 353 in 2025.
* **DGCA's Safety Oversight:**
* DGCA has a systematic safety oversight mechanism to monitor compliance with Rules and Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) for aircraft and airport operators.
* This includes surveillances, spot checks, and regulatory audits.
* Deficiencies are followed up with airlines for corrective actions.
* Enforcement actions are taken for violations/non-compliance.
* **Airworthiness and Safety Circulars:**
* DGCA issued Airworthiness Advisory Circular (AAC) no. 02 of 2024 on 28 Nov 2024, requiring operators to report all occurrences to DGCA.
* DGCA released General Safety Circular 01 of 2025 dated 19.06.2025, titled "Comprehensive Special Audit to Assess the Aviation Ecosystem and Strengthen Aviation Safety Architecture."
* **Flight Delays and Cancellations:**
* Scheduled airlines operate flights as per approved schedules.
* Flights may be delayed/cancelled due to weather, technical, operational, ATC, ramp, and airport issues.
* DGCA issued CAR Section 3, Series M, Part IV regarding facilities for passengers affected by denied boarding, cancellations, and delays.
* **Air Ticket Prices:**
* The Indian domestic aviation market has been deregulated since March 1994.
* Airlines determine airfares based on their operational needs while adhering to Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
* The government generally refrains from regulating airfares but intervenes in exceptional circumstances, such as the pandemic, Maha kumb, Pahalgam incident & recently massive Indigo flight disruptions.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Airlines**
* **Impact:** Subject to DGCA's oversight, including audits and compliance checks. Required to take corrective actions based on audit findings and report occurrences to DGCA. Have flexibility in determining airfares but must adhere to regulations.
* **Action Required:** Comply with DGCA regulations and CAR. Report all occurrences to DGCA. Implement corrective actions identified in audits.
**Stakeholder: Passengers**
* **Impact:** Subject to potential flight delays and cancellations. Entitled to facilities as per DGCA's Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) Section 3, Series M, Part IV in case of flight disruption. Affected by fluctuations in air ticket prices.
* **Action Required:** Be aware of passenger rights related to flight delays and cancellations as stipulated in the CAR.
**Stakeholder: DGCA**
* **Impact:** Responsible for maintaining systematic safety oversight and monitoring compliance.
* **Action Required:** Continue conducting surveillances, spot checks, and regulatory audits. Follow up on deficiencies with airlines for corrective actions. Take enforcement actions for violations/non-compliance.
Key Entities Referenced
Air Corporations Act: Law regarding air corporations.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA): Primary regulator overseeing civil aviation safety and compliance in India.
Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR): Regulatory instrument issued by DGCA for civil aviation operations.
Aircraft Rules, 1937: Rules governing aircraft operations.
MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION: Central ministry responsible for civil aviation policy and regulation.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 1123
( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 5th February 2026 )
TECHNICAL FAULT IN FLIGHTS
1123. SHRI LALJI VERMA
Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION
be pleased to state:-
(a) whether the Union Government has noticed an increase in incidents of technical
faults in flights and if so, the details thereof;
(b) the measures taken by the Government to reduce such technical faults;
(c) the steps taken by the Government to check the frequent flight delays and
cancellations across the country; and
(d) the justification of the Government for the high prices of air tickets in the country?
ANSWER
Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Murlidhar Mohol)
(a): During last three years, technical faults reported in flights have decreased. Details
are as follows:
Year No. of technical faults
2023 448
2024 421
2025 353
(b): Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has a systematic safety oversight
mechanism in place for monitoring the compliance of Rules and Civil Aviation
Requirements (CAR) encompassing all the aircraft and airport operators. The oversight
process includes surveillances, spot checks and regulatory audits. The deficiencies
observed during these audits are followed up with airlines for effective and corrective
actions/closure. In case any violations/non-compliance to regulations is detected,
enforcement actions are taken by DGCA.
DGCA has also issued Airworthiness Advisory Circular (AAC) no. 02 of 2024 on 28
Nov 2024, which requires the operator to report all occurrences to DGCA. Further,
DGCA has released General Safety Circular 01 of 2025 dated 19.06.2025, titled
“Comprehensive Special Audit to Assess the Aviation Ecosystem and Strengthen
Aviation Safety Architecture.”(c): Scheduled airlines operate their flights as per the approved Schedule. The flights
may get delayed or cancelled due to various reasons such as weather, technical,
operational, ATC, ramp, airport issues, reactionary, etc.
In order to reduce inconvenience caused to the passengers and to ensure facilitation for
the air traveller in case of flight delay, DGCA has issued Civil Aviation Requirement
(CAR) Section 3, Series M, Part IV titled as “Facilities to be provided to passengers by
airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights”.
(d): With the repeal of Air Corporations Act in March 1994, the Indian domestic
aviation has been deregulated. Airlines have the flexibility to determine airfares based
on their operational needs, while adhering to Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
The Government generally refrains from regulating airfares to maintain market
competitiveness, however, it remains vigilant and intervenes in exceptional
circumstances by adopting measures like redistributing capacity across various sectors
and imposing temporary fare caps, such as during Pandemic, Maha kumb, Pahalgam
incident & recently massive Indigo flight disruptions.
******