DGCA warns Air India over repeated lapses in crew rostering, orders removal of 3 officials
Aviation safety watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a stern warning to Tata group airline Air India over repeated and serious lapses in flight crew rostering, and has asked the carrier to remove three of its officials from crew scheduling and rostering roles and initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against them, according to sources in the know.
The regulator has also cautioned the airline that any future violation of crew scheduling norms, licensing, or flight duty time limitations detected in audits or inspections will lead to strict enforcement action 'including but not limited to penalties, license suspension, or withdrawal of operator permissions as applicable', according to sources.
The airline said that it has implemented the DGCA order.
Separately, the DGCA has also issued a show cause notice to Air India over two Bengaluru-London flights that exceeded the stipulated flight time limit of 10 hours, asking the airline to respond within seven days on why action should not be initiated against it for the violation, it is learnt. The said violations pertaining to Air India Bengaluru-London flights — AI13 on May 16 and 17 — were observed during a spot check, sources indicated. Longer-than-stipulated flight time indicates that the pilots are likely to have exceeded their flight duty time limitation (FDTL) on these flights.
The DGCA order and show cause notice to Air India comes at a time when the airline is grappling with the tragic crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft in Ahmedabad on June 12. To be sure, the DGCA order does not appear to be linked to the deadly crash, which has placed the airline's safety record and related violations under the lens.
The violations pertaining to flight crew being scheduled and operated despite lapses in licensing, rest, and recovery requirements are learnt to have been voluntarily reported by Air India. These were discovered during a post-transition review after the airline shifted to a new crew management system last year. The DGCA noted that the three officials have been involved in repeated lapses, including unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings, violation of mandatory licensing and recency norms, and systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversight, it is learnt.
'The voluntary disclosures, while noted, point to systematic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability. Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses,' the DGCA stated in an order dated June 20, it is learnt.
According to sources, the airline has been directed to remove the three officials—including one divisional vice president—from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling and rostering, and initiate internal disciplinary proceedings 'without delay' and report to the DGCA the outcome of the proceedings within 10 days. The airline has been asked to reassign the three officials to non-operational roles pending conclusion of 'corrective reforms in scheduling practices' and ensure that they do not hold any position involving direct influence over flight safety and crew compliance till further notice.
'We acknowledge the regulator's directive and have implemented the order. In the interim, the company's Chief Operations Officer will provide direct oversight to the Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC). Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices,' an Air India spokesperson said without going into specifics.
The airline has so far not commented on the show cause notice pertaining to the two Bengaluru-London flights exceeding stipulated flight duration.
Sukalp Sharma is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and writes on a host of subjects and sectors, notably energy and aviation. He has over 13 years of experience in journalism with a body of work spanning areas like politics, development, equity markets, corporates, trade, and economic policy. He considers himself an above-average photographer, which goes well with his love for travel. ... Read More
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Missing filmmaker confirmed dead in Ahmedabad plane crash after DNA match; body handed over to kin
Filmmaker Mahesh Jirawala, who was reported missing following last week's Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, has died in the catastrophe as confirmed by the DNA matching of samples, a police official said on Saturday (June 21, 2025). Jirawala, 34, was passing by from the area on his two-wheeler just when the London-bound plane plunged into a hostel complex in Meghaninagar part of Ahmedabad moments after taking off from the city's international airport, he said, adding that his mortal remains were handed over to his family. A total of 270 persons - 241 on board the aircraft and 29 on the ground - were killed in the crash, one of India's worst aviation disasters. Joint Commissioner of Police, Sector 2, Jaipalsinh Rathore said the DNA test confirmed that Jirawala died in the plane crash, but as his family members were still in disbelief, the police collected and presented other evidence, such as CCTV footage of the road and his burnt scooter, in order to clear their doubts and convince them. "Jirawala's family took his body on Friday after the DNA test confirmed his identity. His scooter, which was destroyed in the fire, was also recovered from near the crash site. The chassis and engine number also matched with the registration documents of the scooter," he said. "To clear his family's doubts, we collected CCTV footage of that area to establish that he was indeed using that route for some time. His last mobile location was last traced close to the accident site," the officer added. Since many of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition or damaged otherwise, authorities are carrying out DNA tests to establish the identity of victims of the horrific tragedy. Soon after the crash, the mobile phone of Jirawala, a resident of Naroda locality in Ahmedabad, got switched off and he never returned home as he had promised to his wife Hetal. Talking to reporters, she said her husband, who was also known as Mahesh Kalavadiya, was a filmmaker and used to direct music albums. On the day of the plane crash, Jirawala went to meet someone at the Law Garden area. At 1.14 pm, he called his wife and told her that his meeting was over and that he was on his way home. However, when he did not return, she called on his number but found it switched off. After the police were intimated, their investigation found that as per the last location of his mobile phone he was 700 metres away from the crash site. Hetal earlier said she never believed that her husband would pass from that route and eventually get killed in the crash. While maintaining that he would never use that route to come home, his family submitted the DNA samples to check if he was one of those killed on the ground.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
DGCA suspends 3 crew rostering heads, warns A-I of licence revocation
In its most serious action yet against Air India following the 12 June crash of flight AI171, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended three senior executives responsible for flight crew rostering and warned that the airline's licence to operate could be revoked if similar violations are detected in future audits or inspections. The regulator issued two documents — an order and a show cause notice — to the airline on Friday (20 June). The order sought the removal of key rostering officials after the DGCA found 'repeated and serious violations voluntarily disclosed by Air India concerning flight crew being scheduled and operated despite lapses in licensing, rest, and recency requirements'. Recency norms require that a pilot must have performed at least three take-offs and landings in the preceding 90 days to remain eligible to fly. The show cause notice was issued to Air India's Accountable Manager, who personally operated two international flights that exceeded the permitted flight duty time limit (FDTL) under existing regulations. FDTL are caps placed on how long a pilot or cabin crew member can be on active duty — including flying and pre/post-flight activities — in a single stretch. They are meant to prevent fatigue, which is a known contributor to human error in aviation. According to the first document issued (order), the violations by key crew rostering officials were discovered during a post-transition review after the airline shifted from the ARMS system to the CAE flight and crew management and rostering system. The DGCA said: 'The voluntary disclosures, while noted, point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability.' 'Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses,' it added. The three officials named in the order — Choorah Singh (Divisional Vice-President), Pinky Mittal (Chief Manager — DOPS, Crew Scheduling), and Payal Arora (Crew Scheduling — Planning) — were found to have been 'involved in serious and repeated lapses including but not limited to unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings, violation of mandatory licensing and recency norms, systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversight'. The DGCA directed Air India to remove the three from 'all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling and rostering' and place them in non-operational roles pending reforms. The airline must also initiate internal disciplinary proceedings and report the outcome 'within 10 days from the date of issue of this letter'. The regulator further warned: 'Any future violation of crew scheduling norms, licensing, or flight time limitations detected in any post-audit or inspection will attract strict enforcement action, including but not limited to penalties, licence suspension, or withdrawal of operator permissions as applicable.' Responding to the DGCA's notices, an Air India spokesperson told Business Standard: 'We acknowledge the regulator's directive and have implemented the order. In the interim, the company's Chief Operations Officer will provide direct oversight to the Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC). Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices.' In the second document issued (show cause notice), the DGCA said that during a spot check it was observed that the Accountable Manager operated two flights from Bengaluru to London — on 16 and 17 May — both of which 'exceeded the stipulated flight time limit of 10 hours', in violation of a specific rule issued by DGCA in 2019. The 2019 rule limits a pilot's flight duty period on long-haul international sectors to 10 hours to ensure adequate alertness and prevent over-fatigue. Flying beyond this limit without special authorisation or crew augmentation is considered a safety violation. The DGCA notice also cited a second violation, which specified the duties of the Accountable Manager, who is personally responsible for maintaining operational control and ensuring that the airline's internal systems are in full compliance with civil aviation regulations. In essence, the regulator held the executive accountable not just for the flight time breach but also for allowing a lapse in command responsibility over regulatory adherence. The DGCA has asked the Accountable Manager to explain within seven days why action should not be taken against him under aviation rules for the violations listed in the notice. It added that if no response is received in time, the matter will be decided unilaterally based on the available evidence. The enforcement action comes amid heightened scrutiny of Air India's internal systems after the crash of AI171 in Ahmedabad. The aircraft had 230 passengers and 12 flight crew members on board. All but one passenger perished in the crash. Moreover, 34 people on the ground also died as a result of the crash.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Why did DGCA order Air India to remove 3 officials? Explained in 5 points
India's aviation safety watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered Air India to remove three officials from all roles and responsibilities linked to rostering and crew scheduling after finding serious lapses. In an order dated June 20, the DGCA further asked the Tata Group-owned airline to initiate proceedings against these three officials without delay. Air India issued a statement following the order, saying that it had implemented the order of the aviation watchdog. 'In the interim, the company's Chief Operations Officer will provide direct oversight to the Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC). Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices,' Air India said. 1. The DGCA's order stated that it had found 'repeated and serious violations' in the scheduling of its crew. 'Repeated and serious violations voluntarily disclosed by Air India concerning flight crew being scheduled and operated despite lapses in licensing, rest, and recency requirements.' 2. The aviation watchdog further revealed that it found the violations during its post-transition review from ARMS to the CAE Flight and Crew Management System. Air India uses ARMS (Air Route Management System) software to execute a range of operational and management tasks like crew rostering, flight planning and more. 3. The DGCA in its order said the voluntary disclosures, 'while noted, point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability'. 4. The regulator noted that its 'particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses.' 5. The DGCA flagged that the officials have performed 'serious and repeated lapses including unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings, violation of mandatory licensing and recency norms and systemic failures in scheduling. protocol and oversight.' The aviation safety watchdog's latest order comes at a time when the carrier is facing heightened scrutiny in the aftermath of the June 12 Ahmedabad plane crash that killed 241 out of 242 on board and at least 29 residents of the building it crashed into. Air India also received a warning from the DGCA, which threatened 'strict actions' including licence suspension and operational restrictions if there are violations in crew scheduling in the future. A London-bound Air India flight, AI-171 carrying 242 passengers and crew members crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. All but one on board the plane died along with nearly 29 on the ground when the aircraft smashed into a medical complex shortly after take-off.
