NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol on Thursday said a total of 1,436 aircraft have been grounded since 2023 till date due to technical defects or maintenance issues.
The minister was replying to a written query in the Lok Sabha by MPs Tanuj Punia and Dr Kirsan Namdeo, who sought details on vacancies in scheduled airlines and the number of aircraft grounded since 2023 due to technical faults or maintenance delays.
Giving a break-up on the aircraft grounded due to technical defects or maintenance delays, Mohol said 356 in 2023, 414 in 2024, 567 in 2025, and 99 in 2026 (upto 25th of March).
Mohol also said that Air India was warned on August 11, 2025 for exceeding the stipulated Flying Time on Bangalore-London sectors of AI 171/AI 172 during May in the same year.
The Minister also said there is a shortage of experienced commanders on certain aircraft in the Indian aviation sector which is presently managed by foreign pilots. There is no overall shortage of pilots or crew in scheduled airlines.
The foreign pilots are recruited under the Foreign Aircrew Temporary Authorisation (FATA) norms, he added.
Eight fatal accidents in 15 months
To another written query from MP Sagar Eashwar Khandre on accidents in the aviation sector, Mohol said that during 2025 and upto March 2026, a total of 16 accidents including 8 fatal incidents have taken place. Investigations of all accidents are under progress.
In the year 2025, the DGCA has conducted 56 regulatory audits and six special audits.This year (as on date), it has conducted 12 regulatory audits and 29 special audits.
He added that the regulator had conducted safety audits of Non Scheduled Operators (NSOPs) in 2 phases in 2026, one in February and one in March. “Further, DGCA has planned two more phases of safety audits of NSOP holders,” he added.
9,609 Student Pilot Licences in five years
Responding to an unstarred query on Flying Training Organisations (FTOs), Mohol said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued 9,609 Student Pilot Licences (SPLs) over the past five years to individuals undergoing pilot training. He added that there are 41 DGCA-approved FTOs operating across 63 flying bases in the country.
The year-wise issuance of SPLs is as follows: 1,173 in 2021; 1,675 in 2022; 2,088 in 2023; 2,364 in 2024; and 2,309 in 2025.
He said that the number of Commercial Pilot Licences issued by the DGCA to cadets trained in foreign FTOs for the financial year 2025 is 615, adding the regulators have implemented a ranking framework for FTOs operating under its approval.