India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initiated an audit of all A319-100s operated by Air India (AI, Mumbai Int'l) after a passenger complained that a broken panel had obstructed an emergency exit on one of the aircraft, The Economic Times has reported.
"As an immediate corrective action, an engineering order to inspect and rectify the defect has been issued for compliance. As a preventive action, all Airbus 319 aircraft will be inspected to ensure the secured and correct installation of the panel during major checks," the flag carrier told the regulator.
The DGCA spotted the irregularity after a passenger tweeted an image of a panel blocking the emergency exit, potentially obstructing it in need of an evacuation.
According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Air India currently operates twenty-two A319-100s, which are 11.7 years old on average.