The recent Air India crash, whose causes are still being investigated, casts a harsh light on an issue critical for aviation safety—the country’s maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) ecosystem. It’s not merely about fixing aircraft, but having a well-regulated backbone to ensure that every plane taking off is fit to do so. MRO is not an option; it’s a critical pillar of aviation safety. However, the sector is in a nascent stage in India even after years of regulatory efforts to establish an ecosystem. The crash and the frequent flight cancellations due to technical glitches should be seen as a warning for the government to address the challenges the sector faces and clear the hurdles to its development.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)—the body that oversees aviation safety and enforces MRO standards in the country—faces its own share of challenges. A Parliamentary Standing Committee report tabled just days before the Air India incident highlighted that the DGCA is facing a staggering 53 percent vacancy. How can the country’s primary safety regulator effectively audit MRO providers, ensure compliance with complex civil aviation requirements and oversee a rapidly expanding sector—reflected in the number of airports growing from 74 to 220—with over half its sanctioned posts vacant? Similarly high levels of vacancy plague the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, which is responsible for security, and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. All this adds up to a systemic oversight deficit in the country.
The domestic MRO sector is hobbled by some inherent deficiencies. A Niti Aayog report has highlighted manufacturing monopolies that restrict access to vital data and manuals, inadequate infrastructure such as modern hangars and specialised training facilities, and a lack of universal recognition for DGCA’s certifications, which severely hinders India’s ability to undertake high-value MRO work. While policy adjustments like GST reduction are welcome steps, they alone cannot address the foundational issues hampering the sector’s growth and efficacy. The safety of the millions flying every day rests squarely on ensuring the regulator tasked with overseeing it has the resources to perform its job. The recent crash unequivocally underscores this. Building a robust MRO infrastructure and filling critical regulatory vacancies are not avoidable expenses—they are essential investments needed to save lives.