DGCA seeks removal of top Air India officials, show causes CEO Wilson
Civil Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation has asked
Air India
to remove the head of its operations control centre and two other senior officials- for violations of pilot rest duty hours, according to a copy of the order reviewed by ET.
DGCA
's action is not connected to last week's crash which killed 241 people on board and more than 30 on ground.
DGCA also warned that repeat of such a violation may lead to suspension of the airline's license.
The three officials named are Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President; Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager - DOPS, Crew Scheduling; and Payal Arora, Crew Scheduling - Planning.
According to the DGCA order dated June 20, they were involved in multiple lapses, including unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings, violations of licensing and crew rest norms and systemic failures in oversight.
This is the second time the same officials have been pulled by the regulator. In February, DGCA had asked Air India to take action the three after it was discovered that a first officer operated a flight without mandatory training requirement
The regulator has also sent a show cause notice to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson due to the violation and has asked for an explanation within seven days.
DGCA said that during an audit of the airline it was found that the airline had operated two flights on the Bengaluru-London route where the pilots exceeded the stipulated duty limit of 10 hours.
During the audit, the regulator also found the three officials were involved in unauthorised rostering of crew, violation of mandatory licensing norms.
"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," DGCA said in the order.
'The officials are also to be reassigned to non-operational roles and are barred from holding any position with direct influence on flight safety and crew compliance until further notice.'
Air India in a statement said that Chief Operations Officer Basil Kawuk will provide direct oversight to the Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC). Kawuk, who was earlier with Singapore Airlines, joined Air India last year.
'Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices,' the airline said. It didn't respond to queries on show cause notice to CEO Wilson.
Regulatory scrutiny of Air India's flight operations have increased following the crash. DGCA is also doing enhanced inspection of the Boeing 787 fleet of Air India. The checks are extensive including a one-time check" of the take-off parameters, to review the last 15 days of technical snags on these aircraft and resolve any recurring problems.
Following this, the airline said that it will reduce flights to Europe and North America by 15% till mid-July to increase contingency aircraft to cater for cancellation as checks have been delaying flights the effect of which was compounded due to the closure of the Iran airspace forcing airlines longer diversion. Night curfew in European airports further delayed the return leg as pilots also ran out of their permitted duty hours.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
2 hours ago
- Hans India
Prioritise security across public transport modes
In an era where threats can emerge unexpectedly, a vital aspect of 'Appropriate preventive safety measures' for 'public transport' call for a systemic action, especially in the light of recent Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad, killing 260 people. Likewise, due to a bomb threat, the Hyderabad-bound Lufthansa flight made a U-turn, back to Frankfurt airport. In both cases, passengers who are not just travellers, were held hostage by inadequate safeguards, reactive systems, and a lack of anticipatory intelligence. And hence, even the most 'regulated modes of transport' are vulnerable. It is precisely this loss of help, this captivity under crisis, that modern transport systems must counter through smart design and AI-backed security infrastructure, and protocols. In an era where security threats are likely to disrupt not only peace but lives, paradoxically, in public carriages, rigorous, proactive safety screening is conspicuously abandoned despite the compelling preventive needs. It is time to introspect as to why mandatory, advance-level security clearance and screening for every public transport vehicle, which is not just a means of movement, but is a moving microcosm of society, carrying lives, valuables, and luggage is absent. Multi-layered pre-boarding checks at all concerned places, AI-powered surveillance, and predictive threat assessments at terminals, randomized inspection protocols, cybersecurity audits of communication and control systems etc. without waiting for the tragedy to take place must be made compulsory. Strangely, vehicles that carry the largest number of anonymous citizens every single day, such as public transport buses, trains, and even certain flights, often remain dangerously vulnerable to silent threats, both human and systemic. For instance, as a curious contradiction, seldom a systematic and scientific check is done, to prevent a miscreant boarding with a concealed weapon or inflammable substance in a fully occupied state-run road transport bus plying on an interstate route at midnight, or into a sleeper coach train. The scenario is not hypothetical. Every tragedy in public transport leads to inquiry, outrage, and compensation. The time has come to shift from reaction to prevention, not just in rhetoric but in process, design, and policy. Every public and private transport vehicle must be subject to an intelligent and evolving security grid carefully without excessive militarization or harassment. Leveraging AI dovetailing human vigilance is desirable and important. AI-driven mobile response teams must replace the outdated physical policing. This model, preferably in PPP mode, is to be designed as 'security must travel with passengers but need not stay static at entry points. Such systems save lives, build public trust, and reduce economic losses due to panic, disruption, and rescue operations. All it takes is the government's will, wisdom, and a willingness to let intelligence, whether artificial or human, work together before it is too late. A 'normalized helplessness' as part of public transport has been, once a passenger boards, he or she is by and large, essentially captive to the system. There is no functional or scientific exit strategy when it encounters a malfunction, fire breaks out, mechanical failure occurs and some threat onboard, among others. Most post-incident inquiries evade or dilute through collective accountability or unaccountability. For every public safety system, clear prioritization of responsibility is essential. To 'prevent tragedies and not just mourn them' establishing a chain of accountability mechanisms that work both preemptively and retrospectively is what is required. Vision, regulation and resource allocation by policymakers and regulatory authorities make all the difference. Law should mandate AI screening, real-time monitoring, functional emergency exits, or passenger drills. If AI-based protocols are not followed, transport operators; terminal level security and operations heads; onboard crew and drivers or pilots; security and maintenance vendors; auditing and safety certification bodies shall all be held responsible. Accountability must flow from the top down, not the bottom up. Fixing responsibility must begin before the tragedy and not after. However, India can still credibly claim superiority in many aspects of public transport safety and crisis management, particularly in how it responds to threats, handles complexity, and manages sheer scale. Millions of passengers by Indian Railways, by air, on state-run buses, metros, and regional services, travel frequently, which is unmatched by any standards. Catastrophic incidents are rare, and when they occur, rescue and mitigation mechanisms are rapidly deployed. This itself is a testament to a deeply embedded resilience. And yet, there remains a realm beyond comprehension, a zone where science stares into silence and logic yields to mystery. From unexplained tragedies over the Bermuda Triangle, to perfectly functional machines vanishing without trace, the human experience of transport is not just about movement, but about vulnerability before the unknown. It is here that Indian civilizational wisdom gently reminds us of Karma Siddhanta, the cosmic principle that every event, joy or sorrow, accident, or escape, is somehow tethered to a greater arc of causality beyond immediate visibility. This does not mean surrender to fate or withdrawal from responsibility. Quite the opposite. It means doing our utmost in dharma, designing safety, demanding accountability, embracing technology, and then, whatever comes, receiving it with the steadiness of inner trust. Well, when all systems are in place, and still, something slips through, we turn not to blame, but to balance, accepting that predetermination is not helplessness, but a form of harmony between action and acceptance.
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Flyer misses flight, enters restricted airport area
Jun 22, 2025 07:16 AM IST MUMBAI: A 25-year-old man was booked by the Sahar police after he entered the restricted area of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). The police said the man was supposed to take a flight to Patna but reached the airport late. He then opened the airport's emergency door and went to the tarmac where his plane had still to take off. When an Air India flight from Gujarat landed and was being parked, he tried going near the plane but was detained by the authorities. Flyer misses flight, enters restricted airport area The offender, Piyush Pawan Kumar Soni, is a resident of Kalamboli, Navi Mumbai, who hails from Darbhanga city in Bihar. A case has been lodged against him on the complaint of Suhas Thorat, who works with Air India as a senior associate and was posted at Terminal 2 of CSMIA. 'According to Thorat's complaint on June 19, when an Air India flight from Bhuj, Gujarat, was being parked, an unidentified person, later identified as Soni, opened the emergency door of the airport and went close to the aircraft,' said the police officer. 'He was stopped and detained by the airport authorities.' 'The airport authorities handed him to us and we registered a case against him under Section 29 (acts likely to imperil the safety of aircraft) of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, and Section 125 (acts that endanger the life or personal safety of others due to rash or negligent behaviour) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, as his act could have put the lives of others in danger,' said the police officer. The police said they had issued Soni a notice of appearance and allowed him to go.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
DNA confirms AI crew member Nganthoi's identity
Guwahati: The identity of the cabin crew member on the ill-fated Ahmedabad-London Air India flight, Kongbrailatpam Nganthoi Sharma of Manipur, has finally been confirmed after a DNA match, her family members said on Saturday. Manipur lost two of its daughters — Nganthoi (20) and Lamnunthem Singson (26) — who were among the crew members aboard the Air India flight that crashed on June 12. Nganthoi's sister Gitanjali told TOI from Ahmedabad on Saturday that the authorities have confirmed her identity among the deceased in the Air India flight crash. "DNA of my sister has matched with our family. We have got the confirmation today after a long wait," said Gitanjali. One of Nganthoi's family members said they are expecting to bring her mortal remains to Imphal on Sunday. It was a patient wait of more than a week by the family members of Nganthoi, a Meitei girl, for the confirmation of her mortal remains through DNA match. Gitanjali and a few of her family members have been camping in Ahmedabad since June 13. "Air India is arranging our return to Imphal with Nganthoi's mortal remains. We are not sure in which flight we are coming. It may be through a connecting flight to Imphal," the family member said.
