Travel experts have insisted that travelling with Air India is safe after one of the airline’s planes crashed, killing 241 people onboard. Aviation Journalist Josh Cahill said on X: “Air India can be a chaotic airline at times, delays, changes and outdated cabins are well-known issues but they aren’t unsafe. Their staff is well-trained and India has some of the strictest aviation regulations in the world. I had over 20+ flights on them in the past and I would always fly them again. My thoughts and prayers are with the airline and families today!”
Travel expert Rob Staines told the Express that the airline has been maligned in the past, but is undergoing change. He said: “I’ve travelled Air India many times on both domestic and international flights. Having recently been privatised they are undergoing a significant restructure with investment to improve both reliability, service and experience after lagging behind other major carriers and making significant financial losses over many years under government ownership.
“Whilst major improvements have been made, turning an ailing airline around takes time and many passengers are yet to see the effects.
“Air India has been slated for scruffy, poorly maintained cabin interiors and sketchy service at times – however in the world of aviation this does not necessarily translate as poorly maintained functionality of aircraft and their airworthiness, all of which will undergo significant technical checks before deployed into the air.
“I personally have never felt unsafe with Air India, which has experienced staff including flight crew and engineers.
“It is now time for the black box to be recovered and full investigation to take place to establish whether the cause of this fatal and devastating accident is due to technical, human factors or both.”
The sole surviving passenger from the Air India crash said the lights on the plane “started flickering” before the aircraft hit the ground.
The Hindustan Times reported that Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, told DD News: “When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air.
“Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white – then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there.”
Mr Ramesh, who was sat in seat 11a next to an emergency exit, told the newspaper the section of the plane he was in landed on the ground, rather than hitting the roof of a building.
“When I saw the exit, I thought I could come out. I tried, and I did. Maybe the people who were on the other side of the plane weren’t able to,” he said.
He added: “I don’t know how I survived. I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me … I walked out of the rubble.”