A parliamentary subcommittee raised concerns about aviation security financing weeks before to the Air India crash

The tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad has spotlighted long-standing concerns about the inadequate funding and staffing of India’s key aviation safety and security bodies — issues that were clearly raised in a Parliamentary Committee report presented in March 2025.

The crash, involving flight AI 171, a London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner, resulted in the deaths of all but one of the 242 people on board, along with 29 others on the ground, including five medical students. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), now probing the incident, is among the agencies flagged in the report for underfunding and understaffing.

Highlights from the 375th Standing Committee Report:

• Inadequate Budget Allocation:

  • DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation): ₹30 crore

  • AAIB: ₹20 crore

  • BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security): ₹15 crore
    The total ₹65 crore allocation is deemed insufficient given the scale of India’s aviation sector — now the third-largest market globally.

• Rapid Infrastructure Growth, Mismatched Resources:

  • Airports increased from 74 in 2014 to 147 in 2022.

  • Target of 220 airports by 2025 under the UDAN scheme.

  • Despite this, capital outlays for accident investigation and aviation security remain flat or disproportionately low.

• Staff Shortages:

  • DGCA: 53% of sanctioned posts vacant

  • BCAS: 35% vacant

  • Airports Authority of India (AAI): 17% vacant
    This under-resourcing severely affects oversight, accident response, and aviation security, especially as India’s air traffic reaches unprecedented levels.

• Security and Safety Gaps:
  The panel emphasized that accident investigation capabilities and aviation security infrastructure must expand in tandem with infrastructure growth, particularly in Tier II and III cities under regional connectivity schemes.

• Call for Accountability:
  The report flagged the need for a careful examination of DGCA’s dominant budget share, stressing that while regulatory compliance is essential, safety and security agencies must not be sidelined.

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Broader Implications:

This incident and the report together expose a critical disconnect between India’s aviation growth and its institutional preparedness. As aviation becomes more accessible across regions, systemic reforms and resource scaling — especially for the AAIB and BCAS — are no longer optional but urgently necessary. The Ahmedabad crash, as devastating as it is, may now serve as a wake-up call to correct longstanding structural and funding imbalances in the sector.