India’s aviation regulator is entering the final phase of preparations for a crucial US safety assessment, with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducting another round of airline inspections before a five-member Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) team arrives in November.
The FAA’s reassessment of India’s aviation safety oversight is scheduled for November 16 to 20. The review will not primarily judge whether individual Indian airlines are safe. Instead, it will examine whether the DGCA has the systems, personnel, resources and procedures required to effectively regulate and oversee the country’s carriers in line with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.
The outcome matters because India currently holds Category 1 status under the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme. A downgrade could restrict the ability of Indian carriers to expand their operations to the US and subject existing services to greater scrutiny.
Why the DGCA is conducting another round of airline checks
The DGCA has already completed two rounds of inspections, mainly focusing on Air India and IndiGo, in August and September. Officials said serious observations were identified during the earlier exercises and communicated to the concerned airlines, which have submitted or are expected to submit responses and corrective measures.
A final inspection round covering all Indian airlines is now planned, with the DGCA aiming to complete it before the FAA team arrives. The inspections are intended to check operational and safety standards and identify deficiencies that need to be addressed.
The regulator is also preparing responses to roughly 200 questions sent by the FAA. Officials said the replies will be accompanied by supporting evidence and submitted before the US team begins its assessment. The exercise involves DGCA officials examining different departments within airlines, a process that can take several days for each carrier.
The wider scrutiny follows a period in which aviation safety has faced increased attention. DGCA reported 352 significant technical defects during the first half of 2026 and subsequently issued 382 show-cause notices over procedural and safety-related violations, according to reports.
What exactly the FAA will examine
The IASA programme evaluates the civil aviation authority of a country rather than conducting a conventional safety ranking of its airlines.
The FAA checks whether the regulator has the legal framework, technical expertise, trained personnel, procedures, guidance and resources necessary to oversee air carriers effectively. Its assessment is based on eight critical elements identified by ICAO.
These include primary aviation legislation, specific operating regulations, the country's civil aviation safety oversight system, technical personnel and training, technical guidance and safety information, licensing and certification, surveillance of airlines, and the ability to resolve safety concerns.
This means the DGCA must demonstrate not only that rules exist, but that they are properly implemented. Its ability to monitor airlines, identify shortcomings, demand corrective action and verify that those deficiencies have been resolved will be important to the FAA assessment.
What Category 1 status allows Indian airlines to do
The FAA uses two IASA ratings. Category 1 means the country's civil aviation authority complies with ICAO safety standards for licensing and overseeing air carriers. Category 2 means the authority does not provide safety oversight in accordance with those standards.
India currently has Category 1 status.
For Indian airlines, retaining that rating has practical importance. It allows Indian carriers to expand services to the US using their own aircraft and participate in codeshare arrangements with US airlines, subject to other applicable regulatory requirements.
India first received Category 1 status in 1997. It was later downgraded to Category 2 in January 2014 after an FAA assessment found deficiencies in the DGCA's safety oversight.
India has faced a Category 2 downgrade before
The 2014 downgrade was linked largely to shortcomings in the DGCA's ability to effectively oversee airlines, including an inadequate number of full-time flight operations inspectors.
Government records said the shortage of flight operations inspectors was the main finding that contributed to the downgrade. The impact was significant: Indian airlines could continue their existing services to the US, but could not expand or make changes to those operations. Their existing US flights were also placed under heightened FAA surveillance.
India subsequently prepared an action plan to address the FAA's concerns. Following corrective measures, a reassessment was conducted in December 2014, followed by a further visit in March 2015. The FAA restored India to Category 1 in April 2015.
India retained its Category 1 status during the next FAA assessment in 2021.
What could trigger another downgrade
The FAA can assign Category 2 if it finds that a country's civil aviation authority lacks the ability to provide safety oversight in accordance with ICAO standards.
The FAA's criteria include deficiencies such as inadequate laws or regulations, insufficient technical expertise or resources, problems with the organisation of the regulator, inadequate inspector training or guidance, and shortcomings in surveillance and enforcement.
A Category 2 finding would not amount to a declaration that Indian airlines are unsafe. Rather, it would indicate that the country's regulatory authority is not meeting the required international standards for safety oversight.
However, the commercial and operational consequences could still be substantial.
What is at stake for India
If India were downgraded, Indian carriers could face restrictions on expanding their US operations. Existing services could also come under increased FAA surveillance, while codeshare arrangements involving US airlines could be affected.
The experience of 2014 demonstrates the potential consequences. Although Indian carriers were allowed to continue their existing US operations after the downgrade, they could not expand or alter those services until Category 1 status was restored. The Indian government's own records noted that the downgrade had wider economic and reputational implications for the country.
The November assessment is therefore also a test of whether improvements made after the 2014 episode have been sustained.
For the DGCA, the immediate challenge is to demonstrate that its surveillance, enforcement, staffing, technical expertise and corrective-action mechanisms are functioning effectively. The regulator's final airline inspections and its responses to the FAA's roughly 200 questions will form an important part of that preparation.
With the FAA team due in India from November 16 to 20, the coming weeks will determine whether India retains the Category 1 status it has held since regaining it in 2015, or faces renewed restrictions on its aviation sector's access to the US market.