• Air India received a warning from India's aviation regulator for operating Airbus planes without necessary safety checks.
• Three Airbus aircraft were noted for overdue inspections on emergency escape slides.
• The warning was issued days before a fatal crash involving a different Air India plane.
• Compliance failures indicate systemic oversight issues within the airline.
• Air India has committed to accelerating its maintenance verification processes.

India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has issued a warning to Air India for violating safety regulations after it was discovered that three Airbus aircraft were operated without requisite inspections on emergency equipment. This action comes amid criticism of the airline's slow response to addressing these safety breaches, according to Reuters and Channel News Asia.

The warning notices were separate from last week's tragic incident involving an Air India Boeing 787-8 that resulted in 241 casualties. These notifications were disseminated shortly before the crash, highlighting ongoing safety compliance issues within the airline, as detailed by South China Morning Post and India Times.

The DGCA's report noted that inspections on the Airbus A320 and A319 aircraft had missed their deadlines, with one A320 inspection delayed by more than a month, while an A319's checks were over three months late. During this lapse, the Airbus planes were still in operation, flying to international destinations including Dubai and Riyadh, according to Reuters and Channel News Asia.

In an alarming assessment, the DGCA indicated that operating aircraft with expired or unverified emergency equipment constitutes a severe violation of airworthiness and safety standards. The airline's delayed compliance responses further underscored deficiencies in procedural oversight, which the DGCA has criticized as being indicative of systemic failures within Air India's operational management, as reported by South China Morning Post and India Times.

Air India, which has recently been acquired by the Tata Group, has acknowledged the issues and stated it is working to expedite the verification of all maintenance records, particularly concerning the emergency escape slides. This assurance follows a significant incident where an escape slide was accidentally deployed during routine maintenance, bringing further scrutiny to the airline's internal procedures, according to Channel News Asia and South China Morning Post.

The reports highlight that inadequate oversight within the airline has resulted in outdated registration paperwork for several aircraft, and the DGCA has warned that airworthiness certificates for the planes involved in missed inspections are considered suspended. Legal experts have noted that such compliance violations typically lead to monetary penalties for both the airline and responsible executives, as mentioned by Reuters and India Times.