DGCA fines Air India Rs 90 lakh for flying with unqualified crew: DGCA fines Air India
Air India (Photo: Company)
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday imposed a financial penalty of Rs 90 lakh on Air India Limited for operating a flight with unqualified crew members. In addition, fines of Rs 6 lakh and Rs 3 lakh were imposed on the director of operations and director of training at Air India, respectively.
The incident, which involved a non-trainer line captain being paired with a non-line cleared co-pilot, was flagged by the airline in a voluntary report filed with the DGCA on July 10, 2024.
The supervisor saw the incident as a serious planning error with major safety risks.
Air India security breach
Following the report, the DGCA conducted a comprehensive investigation into Air India’s operations, examining documentation and sampling the airline’s scheduling facility. The investigation revealed multiple regulatory violations and deficiencies that potentially compromised safety.
In response to show-cause notices issued on July 22, 2024, the concerned flight commander and DGCA-approved post holders at Air India provided explanations which were considered unsatisfactory by the regulator. Consequently, the DGCA imposed the above penalties and warned the concerned pilot to be more careful in future.
DGCA Fines for Air India
The incident is the latest in a series of regulatory actions taken against the Tata Group carrier. Earlier this year, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to Air India after passengers on two separate flights experienced inadequate cabin cooling during significant delays. The regulator said the airline had failed “time and again” to look after its passengers.
In March, the airline was fined Rs 80 lakh for violations related to flight duty time restrictions. Earlier in February, Air India was fined Rs 30 lakh for mistreatment of a passenger who later died of a heart attack. In January, the airline was fined Rs 30 for not having enough pilots on staff for low-visibility landings.
First publication: Aug 23, 2024 | 2:09 PM IST