The Indian civil aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has fined Air India (AI, Delhi International) INR10 million rupees (USD110,000) for operating an A320-200N, VT-TQN (msn 11097), without a valid airworthiness certificate.

According to a regulatory order issued on February 5, the penalty addresses eight commercial flights conducted on November 24 and November 25, 2025. The DGCA stated that the lapse had "further eroded public confidence and adversely impacted the safety compliance of the organisation."

The regulator held Air India chief executive Campbell Wilson accountable for the violation. It also suspended two senior executives from the carrier's Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation.

Reuters reported that the Airbus aircraft operated sectors connecting Bengaluru International, Delhi International, Hyderabad International, and Mumbai International without a mandatory airworthiness review certificate (ARC). The airframe had undergone maintenance for one month prior to these flights, but engineering staff failed to renew the expired permit before the jet returned to service.

An internal investigation by the Tata Sons owned airline identified "systemic failures" and insufficient cross-checks. The inquiry revealed that the head of the defect cell closed a query regarding required approvals without conducting proper verifications.

"All identified gaps have since been satisfactorily addressed and shared with the authority," the airline said in a statement to Reuters. Air India noted that it had voluntarily reported the non-compliance to the regulator.

ch-aviation fleets data shows operates ninety-three in-house A320-200Ns. It also operates six A319-100s, four A320-200s, thirteen A321-200s, nine A321-200NX, one A321-200NX(LR), six A350-900s, one A350-1000, four B777-200LRs, nineteen B777-300ERs, twenty-six B787-8s, and seven B787-9s.