DGCA raps Air India for absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in its order issued to Air India to remove three senior officials responsible for “serious and repeated lapses” in crew scheduling, has categorically mentioned “systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability” at the airline.

The DGCA identified following personnel as directly responsible for the continued non-compliance: Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President; Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager-DOPS, Crew Scheduling and Payal Arora, Crew Scheduling – Planning.

These 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; and systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversight.

“Repeated and serious violations voluntarily were disclosed by Air India concerning flight crew being scheduled and operated despite lapses in licensing, rest, and recency requirements. These violations were discovered during the post-transition review from ARMS to the CAE Flight and Crew Management System,” the DGCA order read.

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.

“Air India is directed to remove the above-mentioned officials from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling and rostering. Internal disciplinary proceedings must be initiated against these officials without delay, and the outcome of such proceedings shall be reported to this office within 10 days from the date of issue of this letter,” said the regulator’s order.

The order further read that the “aforementioned officials shall be reassigned to non-operational roles pending conclusion of corrective reforms in scheduling practices, and shall not hold any position involving direct influence over flight safety and crew compliance until further notice”.

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, license suspension, or withdrawal of operator permissions as applicable, said DGCA.

Currently reeling under the devastating AI 171 Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash that killed at least 270 people, including 241 passengers and crew members, Air India is facing intense heat as the Aviation Industry Employees’ Guild (AIEG) has demanded a CBI probe into the sacking of two cabin crew members by the airline for reporting a technical fault in the aircraft last year.

IANS