The FAA will assess India's DGCA in November after a string of 2025 incidents. A Category 2 downgrade would halt US route expansion for IndiGo, Air India and Vistara.
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India's aviation regulator will face a safety assessment by the US Federal Aviation Administration in November, following a string of incidents involving Indian carriers this year. The review could determine whether IndiGo, Air India and Vistara can keep adding US routes.
The FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment program grades whether a country's civil aviation authority meets International Civil Aviation Organisation standards. Drop from Category 1 to Category 2 would halt new US route launches and codeshare agreements. Air India has added direct flights to New York, San Francisco and Chicago in the past two years. IndiGo launched Mumbai–Istanbul codeshares and is planning US service. Vistara operates US routes through its partnership with United Airlines.
India's civil aviation minister told parliament in July that the DGCA had addressed 98% of the FAA's previous recommendations from a 2023 audit. Two former DGCA officials said the regulator is understaffed relative to the pace of fleet growth. India's commercial fleet has expanded 40% since 2020 to roughly 750 aircraft. The DGCA's flight operations inspector headcount has risen less than 15% over the same period, according to data the regulator submitted to parliament.
The November audit will examine the DGCA's technical staff, inspection procedures and oversight of maintenance organisations. The FAA typically sends four to six inspectors for a two-week on-site visit. A Category 2 finding would not ground existing US flights but would freeze expansion. Indonesia's aviation regulator was downgraded in 2007 and took nine years to regain Category 1.
India's passenger traffic hit 376 million in fiscal 2025, up from 188 million five years earlier. The DGCA has added regional offices but struggles to retain experienced inspectors, who are often hired away by the airlines they regulate, the two former officials said. The government has said it expects the FAA to maintain India's Category 1 rating.
The review is scheduled for the second week of November. The FAA will publish its findings within 90 days of completing the audit.
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