Explosives Found in Cargo and No Engineer Present on Turkish Airlines Flights at Indian Airports

Aviation Safety Concerns Raised Over Turkish Airlines Operations in India

Regulatory Inspections Reveal Serious Lapses

India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a formal warning to Turkish Airlines following a series of unannounced inspections that exposed significant safety and regulatory violations. The inspections, conducted between May 29 and June 2 at four major Indian airports—Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru—uncovered the carriage of explosives on cargo flights without the necessary clearances and documentation.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation confirmed that dangerous goods were found onboard a cargo flight without the required permission from the DGCA. The cargo included explosives for which prior authorization is mandatory when transported to, from, or over Indian territory. However, the relevant approvals and declarations were neither attached nor declared in the dangerous goods documentation.

Additional Operational Deficiencies

Further concerns emerged at Bengaluru airport, where a marshaller engaged in ground operations was found to be operating without proper authorization or a valid competency card. Compounding these issues, a technician lacking certification as a maintenance engineer was reported to have performed arrival procedures on an aircraft, raising questions about adherence to maintenance protocols.

The DGCA also identified shortcomings in the ground handling arrangements, noting the absence of a formal service-level agreement between Turkish Airlines and its ground handling agency in India. Oversight of critical ground support equipment was deemed inadequate, highlighting systemic weaknesses in operational management.

Continued Regulatory Oversight

In response to these findings, the DGCA has pledged to maintain stringent surveillance over Turkish Airlines’ operations within India. The regulator indicated that further inspections will be conducted as necessary to ensure ongoing compliance with safety standards and regulatory requirements.

To date, Turkish Airlines has not released any public comments addressing the issues raised by the Indian aviation authorities.