Focus on aircraft safety, tighten flight ops: Aviation body to Air India top brass
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday met Campbell Wilson, the CEO of Air India, following the crash of its flight AI 171, its London-bound flight from Ahmedabad. During the meeting, the aviation body asked the Tata Group-owned airline to focus on the safety and maintenance of its aircrafts apart from ensuring timely departures.It has asked Air India to enforce strict protocols in ensuring the safety of the operating flights and the service being provided to the passengers flying with them. The DGCA also pulled up the airline over the issue of inconvenience caused to passengers during flight delays, urging it to ensure better handling of such issues.advertisementIt has also asked Campbell to work on reducing delays and communicating with flyers in crisis situations in an efficient manner.
This is the first instance of a high-level meeting between Air India and DGCA following the AI 171 crash which has claimed the lives of over 270 people so far, including 241 out of 242 on board.Following the crash, surveillance was conducted by DGCA on Air India's Boeing 787 fleet. However, it did not reveal any major safety concerns. The aircrafts and associated maintenance systems were found to be compliant with existing safety standards. The DGCA also reviewed the recent operational data for Air India's wide-body operations, with specific attention to the Boeing 787 fleet. Meanwhile, Air India cancelled a total of seven international flights on Tuesday, due to varying reasons, including technical glitches and aircraft unavailability. Six of the cancelled flights were scheduled to be operated by Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, the same passenger mode involved in the Ahmedabad crash.advertisementThe flights cancelled include:AI915 - Delhi to Dubai - B788 DreamlinerAI153 - Delhi to Vienna - B788 DreamlinerAI143 - Delhi to Paris - B788 DreamlinerAI159 - Ahmedabad to London - B788 DreamlinerAI170 - London to Amritsar - B788 DreamlinerAI133 - Bengaluru to London - B788 DreamlinerAI179 - Mumbai to San Francisco - B777For Delhi-Paris, Air India said that the cancellation was due to pre-flight checks revealing a technical issue while the disruption on the Ahmedabad-London sector was due to aircraft unavailability.Following the crash of 12 AI 171 on June 12, Air India has enhanced safety checks on its flights, especially of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet. These checks are likely to have stressed the airline's flight schedule, leading to these cancellations.Must Watch
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