Indian Airlines: The growth of aviation in India has been phenomenal over the last 20 years. More than ever people are traveling by air, ensuring safety in the skies is paramount. Although airline accidents are uncommon, certain airlines have a storied history with accidents. Let’s examine which Indian airline has the most accidents and which airline has the least accidents. There will always be a story to tell about the safety of aviation in India.
Being the oldest airline in India, Air India has experienced the most accidents – they have had a long and distinguished operational history. They are over 70 years old and have had several major accidents, especially during the 1970s until the early 2000s. One notable accident is the 2020 Kozhikode accident where a repatriation flight overran the runway and lost control out of the airfield resulting in 21 lives lost.
Despite its infamous past, Air India has significantly improved its safety systems and protocols over the past several years under new ownership and new fleet equipped with modern technology.
Indian Airlines also experienced several serious incidents in its operations before merging with Air India, especially in the 1990s. Its regional airline, Alliance Air, also experienced a few fatal accidents (the Patna crash in 2000, for example) before it also modernized its operations and its fleet.
IndiGo is known for its fantastic safety record and is frequently touted as having the best safety record of any airline, with no fatalities or hull losses since starting operations in 2006, despite some minor technical issues causing emergency landings. Its excellent safety record has more than to do with proper maintenance practices and the fleet’s relatively younger age.
Even new entrants like Akasa Air and Vistara have clean safety records so far. Akasa Air employs modern fleets with experienced crews and is part of an evolving aviation landscape with global standards of safety firmly in sight.
Also Read: Mechanical Failures vs Human Error: What Causes Most Plane Crashes?
While periodic accidental exposure to safety issues around the world demonstrate that air travel safety is so critical, global aviation safety norms are now firmly in place in India, and companies like IndiGo are proving that safety is a priority. Previous legacy carriers in India are also working hard to continually upgrade their safety profiles. The action of flying today is more trusted than it has ever been, thanks to regulatory agencies and aviation operators working toward safer operational profiles.