New Delhi [India], June 12: One year ago today, Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick, crashed moments after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground – India’s deadliest aviation disaster in decades. A year on, with the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s final report still awaited, a new nationwide survey by LocalCircles shows that the tragedy has left a lasting imprint on how Indians fly: 3 in 10 airline travellers say they now check the aircraft type before booking or travelling, and a similar proportion believe airlines have been cutting corners on safety.
The intervening year has given fliers little reason to relax. In February 2026, another Air India Boeing 787’s fuel control switch reportedly moved to ‘CUTOFF’ twice during engine start-up at Heathrow – an unsettling echo of the AI171 preliminary findings – while a SpiceJet Delhi-Leh flight returned with an engine snag and an IndiGo aircraft clipped an Air India plane while taxiing at Mumbai. In April, a SpiceJet aircraft struck a stationary Akasa Air plane at Delhi’s Terminal 1. May brought an emergency slide evacuation of an IndiGo flight in Chandigarh after a power bank fire, and a full emergency at Delhi airport after an engine fire warning on an Air India flight from Bengaluru. The DGCA’s own audit of 754 commercial aircraft found 377 – exactly half – with recurring technical defects.
It is against this backdrop that LocalCircles surveyed airline fliers to gauge perceptions on air safety. The survey received over 85,000 responses from airline fliers located across 312 districts of India.
3 in 10 fliers say airlines have often been cutting corners on safety protocols
The survey first asked airline fliers, “In your or your family’s experience of flying on India based airlines in the last 3 years, how did you/they find the adherence of airlines to flight safety protocols?” Of the 31,070 who responded, only 16% said they found adherence to safety protocols “always perfect”; 52% found it “mostly fine, but there have been some exceptions”; and 32% said airlines “always are generally cutting corners”. In effect, 3 in 10 fliers of India based airlines surveyed say they have often found airlines cutting corners on safety protocols in the last 3 years.
5 in 10 avoid SpiceJet, 2 in 10 avoid Air India due to safety concerns
Perception translates directly into booking behaviour. Asked “Due to safety reasons what all India based airlines you generally avoid when making a flight booking for yourself or family?”, some among the 28,813 respondents selected more than one airline: 55% indicated SpiceJet; 24% indicated Air India; 13% indicated IndiGo; 13% indicated Akasa; 31% said they “don’t avoid any particular airlines”; and 3% did not give a clear answer. To sum up, 5 in 10 fliers surveyed avoid flying SpiceJet while 2 in 10 avoid Air India due to safety reasons.
3 in 10 fliers are checking aircraft type before booking or travelling
The survey then asked, “These days when you plan air travel, what all do you look at before booking/travelling?” Among 25,223 respondents, many of whom indicated multiple factors, 93% said “air fare” dictates their travel plans; 79% indicated “flight timings”; 51% indicated “airline”; 47% indicated “flight connection and duration”; 29% indicated “aircraft type”; 7% indicated other parameters; 4% did not give a clear answer; and 7% said they have not booked any air travel lately. Notably, with 51% choosing on the basis of airline, carrier reputation now outweighs fare alone for a majority – and 3 in 10 fliers checking aircraft type is a behaviour that was rare before June 2025.
Travellers want DGCA and airlines to do more
The findings indicate that a year after Ahmedabad, safety has become a durable factor in Indian air travel decisions, not a passing anxiety. While DGCA has intensified surveillance – conducting 12 regulatory and 29 special audits in the first months of 2026, against 56 regulatory and 9 special audits in all of 2025 – the continued snags, ground collisions and emergency landings between February and June 2026 suggest the corrective journey is far from complete. LocalCircles believes the regulator must ensure time-bound publication of investigation findings, starting with the AI171 final report, and hold airlines accountable for recurring defects, while airlines must invest in maintenance, training and transparent communication. LocalCircles plans to share the results of this study with DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation so that the concerns of air travellers are addressed properly.
Survey Demographics
The survey received over 85,000 responses from airline fliers located across 312 districts of India. 61% respondents were men while 39% respondents were women. 45% respondents were from tier 1, 30% from tier 2 and 25% respondents were from tier 3, 4 & 5 districts. The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform, and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.
About LocalCircles
LocalCircles, India’s leading Community Social Media platform enables citizens and small businesses to escalate issues for policy and enforcement interventions and enables the Government to make policies that are citizen and small business centric. LocalCircles is also India’s # 1 pollster on issues of governance, public and consumer interest. More about LocalCircles can be found on http://www.localcircles.com
(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PNN and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR
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