The crisis at Air India is escalating, with the UK Aviation Safety Board launching a review just days before the release of the Ahmedabad crash report. For the ground staff and cabin crew, many of whom are union members from working-class towns in the North, this is not just a corporate disaster. It is a threat to their livelihoods.

Union leaders have reported that management has begun informal meetings with contractors, signalling possible outsourcing of maintenance roles. “They are using the crash as cover to slash jobs,” said a senior union official from the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers. “Our members are already struggling with the cost of living. They cannot afford to lose their pensions now.”

The UK safety review, confirmed by the Department for Transport, will examine whether Air India’s maintenance practices meet British standards. This follows the preliminary report into the Ahmedabad incident, which found a cracked engine housing and inadequate pre-flight checks. The airline has denied any systemic failures, but the review adds pressure on a carrier already bleeding cash.

For the workers, the timing is brutal. Inflation is still high, with food prices rising 12 per cent year-on-year. Many of the 2,500 UK-based Air India employees have not seen a real terms pay rise in three years. “We are told to be grateful we have a job,” said a baggage handler at Heathrow. “But grateful doesn't pay the rent.”

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association has called for urgent talks, warning that any restructuring must protect wages and conditions. “The boardroom can afford mistakes. Our members cannot,” said its general secretary.

As the crash report nears, the real story is not just about aviation safety. It is about who pays for the crisis. And for the workers of Air India, the answer so far is them.