India’s aviation watchdog warns Air India for repeated violations
The DGCA warned of violations related to pilot scheduling and oversight, and directed Air India to remove three executives from scheduling roles
India’s aviation watchdog has issued a warning to Air India for “repeated and serious violations” related to pilot duty scheduling and oversight, according to government directives reviewed by reporters on Saturday.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directed Air India to remove three company executives from crew scheduling roles – a divisional vice-president, a chief manager of crew scheduling and one planning executive – for lapses linked to flights from Bengaluru to London on May 16 and May 17 that exceeded the stipulated pilot flight time limit of 10 hours.
The June 20 order cited “systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversights” and criticised the lack of strict disciplinary measures against responsible officials.
On Thursday, Reuters reported that the authorities had also warned Air India for breaching safety rules after three of its Airbus planes flew despite being overdue for checks on emergency equipment of escape slides.
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The latest order by the assistant director of operations at the DGCA, Himanshu Srivastava, said, “Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible.”