Air India faces DGCA heat as 3 officials axed for safety violations

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken strict action against Air India by ordering the removal of three senior officials responsible for crew rostering. This decision follows the airline’s own disclosure of “repeated and serious violations” related to pilot licensing, mandatory rest, and flight recency requirements.

The DGCA’s directive, dated June 20, comes after a review of Air India’s crew scheduling system during a transition of its rostering platform. The aviation regulator flagged multiple instances where flight crew were assigned duties despite not meeting critical compliance criteria.

“These violations were discovered during a review,” the DGCA stated in its order, adding, “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.”

According to the regulator, the three officials “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 has further directed Air India to immediately remove the identified officials from all crew scheduling roles. “Internal disciplinary proceedings must be initiated against these officials without delay,” the order states, adding that the outcome of these proceedings must be reported within 10 days.

Until further notice, the officials will be reassigned to non-operational roles and barred from any responsibilities related to flight safety or crew compliance.

In a stern warning to the airline, the DGCA has further said any future breach of crew scheduling norms, licensing, or flight duty time limitations (FDTL) will result in severe penalties — including license suspension or withdrawal of operational permissions.

Show-cause notice for FDTL violation

In a separate but related move, the DGCA has also issued a show-cause notice to Air India for violating FDTL norms during two Bangalore-London flights operated on May 16 and 17. The regulator highlighted that pilots on these flights were made to fly beyond the permissible 10-hour limit set under the FDTL dispensation available at that time.

“The accountable manager has failed to ensure adherence,” the DGCA noted, while seeking an explanation from the airline within seven days.