India directs Turkish Airlines to maintain compliance after safety lapses

Reuters

Wed, Jun 4, 2025, 11:47 AM 1 min read

(Reuters) -India directed Turkish Airlines to ensure full compliance with aviation regulations following lapses found during inspections of the carrier's passenger and cargo flights at several cities, the country's civil aviation ministry said on Wednesday.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation conducted inspections of state-backed Turkish Airlines' passenger and cargo flights at four Indian cities from May 29 to June 2, the aviation ministry said in a statement.

The aviation regulator found lapses during the inspections, including cargo containing "Dangerous Goods" that require DGCA permission for carriage of explosives across India. The goods were not mentioned in the declaration, the ministry said.

Turkish Airlines did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for a comment.

The inspection comes after India's IndiGo said last week it would terminate its leasing agreement with Turkish Airlines by August 31. The agreement came under public criticism in India after Turkey came out in support of Pakistan during the recent conflict between the two South Asian neighbours.

"Further follow-up inspections will be conducted as necessary to ensure continuous safety oversight," the aviation ministry said.

The DGCA conducted the inspections in the Indian cities of Delhi and Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru.

(Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan; Editing by Jane Merriman and Bill Berkrot)