NEW DELHI – There are a lot more complaints about India’s civil aviation sector than there were before. By June 2025, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had already received about 98% of the complaints it received in all of 2024. Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu brought attention to this worrying trend during a parliamentary session on Monday, July 28, 2025.
Minister Naidu told Parliament in writing that as of June 2025, the DGCA had received 3,925 complaints from passengers. This was in response to a question from MP Mukul Balkrishna Wasnik. This number is very close to the 4,016 complaints that were filed for the whole year of 2024. In 2023, there were more complaints (5,513) than in 2021 (4,131) or 2022 (3,783). Based on the current trend, 2025 may have more unhappy passengers than any other year.
The minister’s answer also shed light on the state of aircraft maintenance, showing that there has been a big rise in the number of reported technical problems. As of June of this year, the amount of technical problems reported was already 43% of the total reported in 2024. There have been 183 flaws recorded up to June 2025, which is less than the 421 defects reported in 2024 and the 448 defects reported in 2023. There were more problems in 2021 and 2022, with 514 and 528, respectively.
Naidu also said that there have been 2,094 investigations into major defects or problems that have been recorded in the last five years (up to June 2025). He made it clear that all aircraft operators must have processes in place to record and look into any issues, whether they are reported by flight crew or seen by maintenance staff, to make sure they are fixed properly. He also said that serious problems are reported to the DGCA right away.
In response to questions about what the government is doing to make flying safer, especially after the sad disaster of Air India Flight 171 in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, which killed 260 people, Naidu talked about the proactive efforts the DGCA is taking. He said that the DGCA has “comprehensive and structured civil aviation regulations for safe operation of aircraft and its maintenance.” He promised that these rules are always being updated and are in line with the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
“After the accident, DGCA stepped up the checks and inspections of the most important part of safety assurance to find and fix any immediate systemic problems,” Naidu said, stressing how closely the regulator watched things after the terrible event. The Air India tragedy happened shortly after takeoff and involved a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on its way to London Gatwick. It crashed into a medical college hostel, killing all 229 passengers, all 12 crew members, and 19 individuals on the ground. There was only one person who lived through the crash.
The spike in passenger complaints and the ongoing efforts to fix technological problems show how hard it is for India’s rapidly growing aviation sector to keep up with the rising demand for air travel while still meeting safety and service standards.