Air India staff linked to flying A320 plane with expired licence de-rostered

New Delhi: Air India executives linked to the incident of allowing a 164-seater Airbus A320 plane with an expired airworthiness licence to undertake eight commercial flights in November, have been de-rostered from service till the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) completes its investigation into the lapse, the regulator said on Tuesday.

The DGCA said it has instituted an investigation and instructed the operator to ground the aircraft.

“The Airworthiness Review Certificate process is in progress. Concerned personnel have been de-rostered with immediate effect pending investigation. Air India, on the instructions of the DGCA, is carrying out an internal investigation to identify deficiencies in their system and put corrective measures in place to prevent such failures from occurring in future,” the DGCA said in a statement.

The Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation (CAMO) within Air India is entrusted with issuing the Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC) annually to ensure that the Certificate of Airworthiness remains valid.

According to the DGCA statement, “ARC is issued annually in respect of an aircraft after a comprehensive review of its maintenance records, physical condition and verification of compliance with all airworthiness standards. It acts as a validation of the aircraft’s main Certificate of Airworthiness.”

The statement said that when Vistara was merged into Air India in 2024, it was decided that the first post-merger ARC of all 70 Vistara aircraft would be reviewed and renewed by the regulator itself and not by the delegated authority within Air India.

“Till date, ARC for all the 69 aircraft has been issued by the DGCA after satisfactory compliance by the operator. In respect of the 70th aircraft, the operator filed an application with the DGCA and subsequently the aircraft was grounded for an engine change. During this period, the ARC expired. However, the aircraft was released for service after an engine change,” the DGCA stated.

The aircraft was used to operate eight flights between November 24 and 25. On November 26, the airline informed the DGCA about the flying of the aircraft with the expired ARC on the “eight revenue sectors”.

Meanwhile, Air India said on Tuesday that the incident was “regrettable” and it has initiated a comprehensive internal investigation.

“As soon as the incident came to our notice, it was duly reported to the DGCA and all personnel associated with the decision have been placed under suspension, pending further review. We have initiated a comprehensive internal investigation and are fully cooperating with the regulator,” an Air India spokesperson said in a statement.

The airline further said that “it remains unwavering in its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of operational integrity and safety, and any deviation from mandated compliance protocols is treated with utmost seriousness and is unacceptable to the organisation”.

On June 12, a London-bound Air India Flight crashed just 32 seconds after take-off from the Ahmedabad airport. Of the 12 crew members and 229 passengers on board, only one passenger survived. On the ground, 19 people were killed, and 67 others were seriously injured.

IANS