In the wake of the crash of its flight from Dubai at Mangalore, Air India today rejected reports that operational and engineering infrastructure of its budget carrier was inadequate and did not meet required norms.
The airline said it was well equipped to handle operations and fleet maintenance to established standards. Apart from independent administrative and technical staff, Air India Express has fully trained and qualified pilots and engineers to run operations, the airline said in a release.
On the crash of Air India Express flight which claimed 158 lives, the airline said "regrettably, in certain sections, this accident is being used to malign functioning of Air India Express".
The track record of Air India Express has been outstanding with its technical dispatch reliability being above 99.5 per cent. Manufacturers of the fleet -– Boeing -- have also been very appreciative of Air India Express on this aspect, the release said.