New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a substantial penalty on Air India Limited following serious safety breaches. The airline has been fined Rs 90 lakh for operating flights with unqualified crew members. In addition, the DGCA has levied Rs 6 lakh penalty on Air India’s Director of Operations and Rs 3 lakh on the Director of Training.
The penalties stem from an incident that occurred around July 10, when a trainee pilot and a non-instructor pilot were found to have operated a commercial flight together, violating established safety regulations. The irregularity came to light through a voluntary report submitted by Air India last month. Subsequent investigations uncovered significant deficiencies and multiple violations within the airline’s operations, raising concerns about safety.
The DGCA’s findings revealed that a non-trainer line captain and a non-line-released first officer commanded the flight in question. The regulator deemed this a severe scheduling error with serious safety implications.
As part of its enforcement action, the DGCA issued show-cause notices on July 22 to the flight’s pilot-in-command and senior airline executives. The responses received were deemed unsatisfactory, leading to the imposition of the aforementioned penalties.
The DGCA’s scrutiny of Air India comes amid a series of regulatory challenges for the airline, which has faced criticism on four separate occasions this year alone for failing to adhere to aviation norms. The latest enforcement action underscores the regulator’s commitment to upholding safety standards within the aviation industry.
