The Mumbai High Court ordered India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on December 19, 2024, to examine concerns raised by a pilot about the emergency oxygen supply on certain B777-200LRs operated by Air India (AI, Delhi International).
Justices B P Colabawalla and Somasekhar Sundaresa made the order after a pilot filed a claim that the aircraft did not have adequate emergency oxygen supplies when operating long-haul routes between India and the United States. The court heard the petitioner pilot refused to operate a B777-200LR flight between Bengaluru International and San Francisco in January 2024 until a "safe route" was found. He was stood down and later terminated.
Air India's practice of operating certain leased B777-200LRs on routes to North America has been the subject of sustained criticism from pilots, who say the oxygen carried onboard will only last around 12 minutes. Certain pilots say that in depressurisation events, it is necessary to descend to around 10,000 feet, and this may not always be possible within that time, especially when flying over regions of extensive mountainous terrain.
The carrier has eight B777-200LRs, but only five ex-Delta Air Lines aircraft are affected by the oxygen supply issue. These are VT-AEE (msn 29739), VT-AEF (msn 29741), VT-AEG (msn 30440), VT-AEH (msn 39091), and VT-AEI (msn 39254). The other three units, delivered directly to Air India, are not affected. The ch-aviation schedules module shows the carrier continues to use the type on services from Bengaluru, Delhi International, and Mumbai International to San Francisco, and from Mumbai to New York Newark. ch-aviation does not say this is unsafe, only that concerns have been raised.
In early 2024, the DGCA fined Air India INR1.1 million rupees (USD12,850) for operating the aircraft outside the regulatory/OEM performance limits and ordered it to cease the practice.
Air India's and the DGCA's counsels said the airline was complying with the applicable safety norms.
ch-aviation has contacted Air India and the DGCA for comment.
