Short answer: Air India Express meets the main current audit and oversight checks used for international carriers. It has been on the IATA Operational Safety Audit registry since 2017, became an IATA member in September 2025, and is certified and overseen by India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Its record includes two fatal accidents, both landing overruns at “tabletop” runways built on raised ground with a drop beyond the end: Mangalore in 2010 and Kozhikode in 2020. There has been no fatal Air India Express accident since.
Air India Express is not Air India
Air India Express is the group’s low-cost, narrow-body arm, with its own Air Operator Certificate and its own accident record. The Air India Flight 171 crash at Ahmedabad on 12 June 2025 was an Air India mainline flight, not an Air India Express one.
Latest fatal accident
Flight IX1344 at Kozhikode, 7 August 2020; 21 of the 190 people on board died, including both pilots.
Current standing
IOSA-registered since 2017 and an IATA member since September 2025. No Indian carrier appears on the EU Air Safety List updated on 9 June 2026.
Major fatal events in the airline’s record
| Date | Flight | What happened | Fatalities |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 May 2010 | IX812 | Boeing 737-800 from Dubai landed long at Mangalore, overran the tabletop runway, hit the boundary fence, fell into a gorge and caught fire | 158 of 166 on board (152 passengers, 6 crew); 8 passengers survived |
| 7 Aug 2020 | IX1344 | Boeing 737-800 from Dubai landed halfway down a wet tabletop runway at Kozhikode, overran, went down the embankment and broke apart | 21 of 190 on board, including both pilots |
What changed after each accident
One thing did not change, because it was already in place: both Mangalore and Kozhikode were on the DGCA’s list of “critical airfields” before the 2010 crash, a designation requiring extra crew qualification and permitting only the pilot-in-command to perform take-offs and landings. The designation alone did not prevent either accident.
What Mangalore did change was the ground. The DGCA directed that tabletop runways provide a runway end safety area of 240 by 90 metres, against the 90-metre standard then in force, matching ICAO’s recommended rather than minimum figure. Kozhikode’s declared runway length was cut from 2,860 to 2,700 metres during re-carpeting in 2017 to create it, and a senior Airports Authority official told Outlook India after the 2020 crash that the longer safety area checked the aircraft’s speed significantly.
The physical works have moved slower than the rules elsewhere. Within four days of the Kozhikode accident the DGCA barred wide-body aircraft from that airport during the monsoon, but at Mangaluru local reporting in May 2025 found the runway safety strip still incomplete on one side, held up by a 32.97-acre land acquisition sought in 2015 and never completed.
Who owns it, and who regulates it
Tata Sons completed its purchase of Air India, including Air India Express, from the Government of India on 27 January 2022. AIX Connect, the former AirAsia India, was folded in on 1 October 2024 when the DGCA moved its aircraft onto a single Air Operator Certificate, and the combined airline now flies solely as Air India Express under the code IX.
Ownership and safety certification are separate matters. The Air Operator Certificate, and the audits behind it, sit with the DGCA regardless of who owns the shares, so a change of parent company does not itself change the airline’s oversight.
India holds FAA Category 1 status under the International Aviation Safety Assessment programme, and scored 85.65% for effective implementation in ICAO’s November 2022 audit, up from 69.95% in 2018. A fresh FAA assessment is reported to be due in November 2026.
One compliance lapse is worth knowing. A DGCA audit in October 2024 found the airline had missed the deadline in a 2023 EASA airworthiness directive to replace CFM LEAP-1A engine parts on one Airbus A320, and that maintenance records had been altered to show the work as done. The DGCA issued a warning in March 2025, and Air India Express removed its quality manager and suspended its deputy continuing-airworthiness manager.
What travellers should check
- Confirm the operating carrier on your ticket, since Air India and Air India Express are different airlines with separate records.
- Expect conservative handling in the monsoon at Kozhikode, Mangaluru and other tabletop airports, including diversions.
- Check live operations before leaving for the airport using the Air India Express flight status guide.
- Know your options if things go wrong, with Wego’s guide to cancellations, refunds and rebooking.
Compare current Air India Express itineraries, flights to Dubai and hotels in Mumbai on Wego.
FAQ
Is Air India Express safe to fly in 2026?
It meets the main current audit and oversight checks used for international airlines, and has had no fatal accident since 2020. No airline can be described as risk-free.
Is Air India Express the same as Air India?
No. Both sit in the Tata-owned Air India Group, but they hold separate Air Operator Certificates, fly separate fleets and have separate accident records.
What is a tabletop runway?
It is a runway built on a plateau or hilltop with steep drops beyond one or both ends. An overrun there is far more likely to be severe, which is why the DGCA treats these airports as critical airfields.
Did the AirAsia India merger affect safety oversight?
The merged fleet moved onto one Air Operator Certificate held by Air India Express in October 2024. Oversight of that certificate stayed with the DGCA throughout.
Sources
- AAIB India: final investigation report on Air India Express IX1344, VT-AXH
- Court of Inquiry: report on the accident to Air India Express IX812, VT-AXV, 22 May 2010
- Outlook India: Airports Authority official on the 240-metre safety area at Kozhikode
- Outlook India: DGCA bars wide-body aircraft at Kozhikode
- Daijiworld: Mangaluru airport safety strip still incomplete, May 2025
- Tata Sons: Air India handover, 27 January 2022
- Air India newsroom: completion of the Air India Express and AIX Connect merger
- Deccan Herald: Air India Express joins IATA, September 2025
- FAA: International Aviation Safety Assessment programme
- Business Standard: DGCA warning over the A320 engine directive
- European Commission: EU Air Safety List
Disclaimer: Wego strives to ensure all information presented in this article is accurate and up to date at the time of publication. Travel policies, prices, visa requirements, and conditions can change rapidly. We strongly recommend verifying critical details with official sources before making travel decisions. Wego does not accept liability for any inaccuracies, oversights, or changes that may occur after publication.
