" We thought this might be it.”  That’s how a passenger summed up their ordeal after an Air India Express flight made an emergency landing following a suspected tail strike. Unfortunately, they weren’t alone.

India’s aviation sector is no stranger to hiccups. But this week, the turbulence wasn’t metaphorical- it was very real. Indian skies witnessed a string of unsettling incidents that left both passengers and aviation experts alarmed. From an Air India Express flight making an emergency landing in Bengaluru to a Mumbai-bound Air India aircraft returning to Delhi due to a hydraulic failure, the skies felt anything but safe.

 

Mid-Air Mayhem: The Alarming Pattern Emerging in Indian Aviation 

It’s not every day that a flight turns back mid-air. But when three do, in 24 hours? People start asking questions.

In a chilling 24-hour window, India’s aviation sector hit fresh turbulence, quite literally. Three Air India flights were forced into emergency procedures, ranging from abrupt U-turns to full-blown landings. On paper, it’s ‘technical snags’. But for the average flyer, it’s more than a mechanical fault, it's a crisis of confidence.

 

AI-185 (Delhi to San Francisco) had to return to Delhi within hours of takeoff due to a technical issue.

AI-583 (Delhi to Chennai) encountered a glitch in its Dreamliner, the much-hyped Boeing 787-8, and diverted safely

AI-179 (Mumbai to Newark) was forced to make an emergency landing in Mumbai after a snag was detected post-takeoff.

AI 159 (Ahmedabad - London) was supposed to be the first London-bound flight from Ahmedabad did not take off on Tuesday due to a technical fault.

While no lives were lost, and safety protocols were followed, the bigger question remains: Why are India’s national carriers hitting turbulence so frequently and why now?

 

Coincidence or Cracking Systems?

There’s a reason this feels bigger than a bad weekend.

According to reports, all these aircraft were Boeing 737s or wide-body planes that have seen long service, raising eyebrows over the fleet's airworthiness. Are we pushing aging planes too far? Or is the rush to expand routes and passenger volume stretching maintenance crews too thin?

With Air India undertaking one of the largest aviation merger-and-restructuring exercises in history, insiders hint at pressure building across departments especially engineering. As routes expand, turnarounds shorten, and flight frequency increases, the challenge of timely and thorough checks grows.

This isn’t about pilot error or one-off glitches anymore. It’s about systemic fatigue.

 

The Human Cost: Fear at 35,000 Feet

Let’s not forget the real story here - the flyers. Every incident, whether resolved safely or not, chips away at the trust passengers place in the system.

From panicked calls to families to disrupted plans and trauma onboard, mid-air emergencies don't just end when the aircraft touches ground again. As one passenger told TOI, “I’ve flown for years, but now every vibration makes me uneasy.”

This growing fear is dangerous. It affects travel sentiment, airline reputation, and eventually the health of an already pressured aviation sector.

 

What's Being Done?

DGCA has ordered probes, and Air India officials claim they’re "reviewing protocols" and “ramping up safety checks.” But questions remain:

1.Why were aircraft that reported issues still cleared to fly within days?

2. Are whistleblowers within engineering departments being heard?

3. And most critically, is safety keeping pace with expansion?

 

Final Descent: A Wake-Up Call?

Indian aviation has made monumental progress. But progress needs sustainability, not speed at the cost of safety. What’s happening with Air India is a reminder that reputation isn’t armour, and past glory can’t shield present cracks.

The skies, once romanticised as a symbol of India’s modern might, are now under scrutiny. And perhaps rightly so. This isn’t just turbulence, it’s a wake-up call.