DGCA takes Air India to task over ‘systemic errors'
The regulator cited what it said were 'systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability' — a strongly worded rebuke that poses questions about the airline's processes intrinsic to passenger safety.
Air India faces intense scrutiny following the June 12 crash of its London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, which killed 241 of 242 people aboard and at least 30 more on the ground.
Two more documents seen by HT suggest the regulator was in the midst of further ramping up scrutiny on the airline, including by initiating a compilation of all audits and checks carried out on Air India since 2024.
The regulator and Air India did not respond to requests for a comment on whether the order dated June 20 was related to the crash in Ahmedabad this month.
At least three experts HT spoke to welcomed the scrutiny and the reviews, but questioned if there was inadequate regulatory oversight before.
'Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses,' the DGCA stated in its enforcement order. 'These officials have been involved in serious and repeated lapses.'
The regulator warned that '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.'
In a statement, Air India said it has implemented the DGCA order and 'in the interim, the company's chief operations officer will provide direct oversight to the IOCC.' 'Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices,' the airline stated.
The regulator separately issued a show-cause notice to the airline, seen by HT, for breaching flight duty time limits of its crew on a London-Bengaluru flight on two occasions.
Another document, an internal DGCA email seen by HT, suggested the regulator is putting together a compilation of all inspections and audits conducted on Air India during 2024 and 2025. The email, sent by assistant director Himanshu Srivastava — the same official who signed the enforcement order — requests 'details of all inspections and audits conducted for Air India during the years 2024 and 2025 (till date)' including findings, inspection types, and officer names, with a tight deadline of June 22.
The June 20 order directed Air India to immediately remove Choorah Singh, divisional vice president of the Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC); Pinky Mittal, chief manager-DOPS, crew scheduling; and Payal Arora, crew scheduling-planning from all roles related to crew scheduling and rostering.
The violations stem from incidents that the regulator said occurred during Air India's transition from one system for flight and crew management to another.
Specifically, the violations occurred 'during the post-transition review from ARMS to the CAE Flight and Crew Management System,' with the regulator noting that the voluntary disclosures by Air India revealed the extent of compliance failures during this technological upgrade.
An industry expert, who asked not to be named, said ARMS is a well-known software and is widely used.
The DGCA specifically cited three categories of violations: 'unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings,' 'violation of mandatory licensing and recency norms,' and 'systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversight.'
An Air India official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the order is related to a case of non-compliant crew pairing that occurred in August last year, though the DGCA order suggests the issues are more widespread and ongoing.
The 2024 incident involved 'a flight commanded by a non-trainer line captain paired with a non-line-released first officer,' which the DGCA described as 'a serious scheduling incident having significant safety ramifications.' The regulator subsequently imposed a ₹ 90 lakh fine on Air India and additional penalties of ₹ 6 lakh and ₹ 3 lakh on the airline's director operations and director training respectively.
Safety expert Mohan Ranganathan, said the regulator's 'order and show cause notice seems to be an effort to just show that they are working actively.'
Another expert, Mark Martin of Martin Consulting, asked: 'Why is the order for something that happened a year back, coming out now?'
Crew scheduling and duty time limitations are fundamental safety measures in aviation, designed to prevent pilot fatigue and ensure only qualified personnel operate aircraft. The regulations require strict adherence to flight duty time limitations (FDTL) and mandate that crew pairings meet specific qualification and recency requirements.
'A crew rostering system is automated. You're not supposed to be partial to one crew over another. You're not supposed to intentionally put one crew member with another. The system needs to randomly roster cabin crew and pilots. All pilots should be given equal hours. All cabin crew should have enough,' Martin said.
The 2024 incident, additionally, appears to have involved pilots who were not adequately qualified operating together.
Flight 171, carrying 242 passengers and crew, departed Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:39 PM on June 12 bound for London when the pilot issued a Mayday distress call shortly after takeoff. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical hostel complex in the Meghaninagar area, killing all but one person aboard and at least 30 others on the ground. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is investigating the cause of the crash, while authorities have announced plans to survey structures around the airport for potential height violations that could pose safety risks.
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