DGCA sends show cause notice to Air India for exceeding Benglauru-London flight time limit

Troubles continue to haunt Air India as now civil aviation watchdog DGCA has sent a show cause notice to the airline for exceeding the flight time limit of 10 hours for two flights from Bengaluru to London. The flights in question were for May 16 and 17. The airline has been given seven days to reply to the show cause notice.. In a separate notice, DGCA has also ordered Air India to remove its three officials, including a divisional vice president, from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling and rostering.. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in its order on June 20, also asked the Tata Group-owned airline to initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against these officials without delay.The three officials include a divisional vice president of the airline, as per the DGCA order.

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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.

Scroll.in

an hour ago

• Scroll.in

DGCA tells Air India to remove three employees for lapses in crew scheduling

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Saturday ordered Air India to remove three officials, including a senior executive part of the flight operations department, from all roles related to crew rostering, The Hindu reported, citing an order. The action was initiated for 'systemic failures' and 'multiple violations concerning flight crew being scheduled and operated despite lapses in licensing, rest, and recency requirements', the newspaper quoted the order as stating. The airline was also directed to initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against the three officials within 10 days. An Air India spokesperson confirmed that the directives had been implemented, PTI reported. The spokesperson stated that the company's chief operations officer will also directly oversee the Integrated Operations Control Centre, which is the airline's operational hub responsible for coordinating flight operations, crew rosters and ensuring compliance with safety and regulatory standards. 'Air India is committed to ensuring total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices,' said the spokesperson. According to The Hindu, the alleged violations came to light during a review following the airline's switch to a new crew scheduling software, which was implemented in May last year. #DGCA penalises #AirIndia scheduling and rostering key officials for "repeated and serious violations" and asks for them, including a Divisional VP, to be removed from their posts. Pilots and Crew have long complained about their flying rosters, lack of sufficient rest time &… — barkha dutt (@BDUTT) June 21, 2025 Among those facing disciplinary action is Choorah Singh, the divisional vice president of the Integrated Operations Control Centre, which is the airline's operational hub responsible for coordinating flight operations, crew rosters and ensuring compliance with safety and regulatory standards. The other two persons are Pinky Mittal, the chief manager in the Directorate of Operations, and Payal Arora, who is also involved in rostering, Hindustan Times reported. The directive comes days after Air India's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, which was en route to London's Gatwick airport from Ahmedabad, crashed just 33 seconds after taking off on June 12. This is being viewed as the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. There were 242 people aboard the aircraft. One passenger survived with ' impact injuries '. Thirty-four persons were also killed on the ground after the plane crashed into the hostel building of the BJ Medical College and Hospital in Ahmedabad, according to Air India. On Wednesday, the airline said that it will reduce its international services that use widebody aircraft by 15% for the 'next few weeks' to ensure operational stability.