Following a number of accidents reported over the past few weeks, CPI MP Binoy Viswam wrote to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to express his concern over the "woeful and dire" safety conditions of airlines.
After SpiceJet's aircraft experienced eight technical issues over the course of 18 days, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) sent a show-cause notice to the airline on Wednesday.
IndiGo and Vistara experienced technical problems on Tuesday, similar to SpiceJet.
Viswam urged the minister to make sure there is a "comprehensive review" of all airlines in the nation and that passenger safety is not compromised.
“This letter is written regarding the woeful and dire safety conditions in which airlines are currently operating in the country,” he said.
The Left leader claimed that over the previous few months, there had been a number of safety incidents and emergency landings.
Around 21 mid-air safety issues involving various airlines have occurred, 10 of which have happened just this month, according to him.
“Along with this, multiple airlines have faced malfunctions such as non-operation of air conditioning which led to suffocation of passengers with medical conditions. Such a sorry state of affairs is unpardonable and creates tensions among the already apprehensive population regarding air travel,” he added.
He claimed that these problems serve as a "stark reminder that only 4% of the population uses air travel, placing India with some of the less developed African nations, in terms of the per capita usage of air tickets."
"The rising burden of airline with increasing cost of aviation fuel, further casts doubt in our mind regarding the compromise of safety procedures as a cost-cutting measure," the CPI leader said.
But this cannot be used as a justification for compromising on passenger safety, he said.
"In the light of the above, I urge you to ensure a comprehensive review and audit of airlines across the country. The safety and well-being of passengers cannot be comprised under any circumstances," he said.
