DGCA orders Air India to sack 3 employees for violating rules on flight crew schedules

Mumbai: Air India has come under scrutiny from India's civil aviation regulator for violations it voluntarily disclosed concerning flight crew being scheduled and deployed despite lapses in licensing, rest and recency requirements, and for breaching Civil Aviation Requirement Section 7. CAR Section 7 outlines the requirements for personnel involved in flight operations, including pilots, instructors, and examiners.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation ((DGCA) ordered the airline to let go of three employees from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling and rostering.
It also sent Air India a show-cause notice, asking it to show why it should not face action under the Aircraft Rules and Civil Aviation Requirements for the violations mentioned.
Mint has seen a copy of both the documents, which were confirmed by a DGCA official who did not want to be named.
An Air India spokesperson said, '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,'
The regulator has directed the airline to remove Choorah Singh, divisional vice president, Pinky Mittal, chief manager - DOPS crew scheduling, Payal Arora, crew scheduling-planning, and asked for an internal disciplinary proceedings to be initiated against these officials without delay. It said the outcome must be reported to it within 10 days.
The DGCA's show-cause notice relates a violation of Para 6.1.3 of Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) Section 7, in which the accountable manager of Air India operated two flights from Bangalore to London on 17 and 18 May, both of which exceeded the stipulated flight time of 10 hours.
As per, Para 6.1.3 of CAR Section 7, a crew is limited to 10 hours of flying and 13 hours of duty if the flight crosses into night hours beyond their time zone.
As per the show-cause notice, the accountable manager also failed to ensure adherence to the provisions and compliance requirements demanded under CAR.
On 12 June, Air India flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London crashed seconds after take-off, resulting in the death of more than 240 people. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's probe into the cause of the accident is ongoing.

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