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Time of India
04-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Air India pilot collapses moments before operating Bengaluru-Delhi flight
Mumbai, An Air India pilot collapsed just prior to operating a flight from Bengaluru to Delhi, reported PTI quoting sources on Friday. The pilot was immediately taken to hospital and the airline had to arrange another pilot to fly the passengers to their destination. Air India confirmed that "there was a medical emergency involving one of our pilots in the early hours of July 4." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo "There was a medical emergency involving one of our pilots in the early hours of July 4. As a result, the pilot was unable to operate the flight AI2414 from Bengaluru to Delhi, that he was rostered for, and was taken to a local hospital immediately," Air India said in a statement. "He is currently stable but continues to be under the supervision of doctors at the same hospital," the airline said. Live Events Recently, India's civil aviation regulator has pulled up Air India for serious and repeated violations of crew safety norms, ordering the removal of three senior officials, head of crew rostering, from their positions in the airline's scheduling department. The aviation watchdog has asked the Tata Group-owned airline to initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against these officials without delay. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has identified Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President, Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager - DOPS, Crew Scheduling, and Payal Arora, Crew Scheduling - Planning directly, responsible for the continued non-compliance. The action comes after Air India voluntarily disclosed that flight crew were being scheduled and operated in violation of licensing, flight duty time, and rest period regulations, key requirements for flight safety.
India.com
23-06-2025
- India.com
Who is Choorah Singh? the senior Air India officer blamed for Ahmedabad Air India plane crash, he is accused of..., DGCA says...
Choorah Singh, Air India Who is Choorah Singh? In a significant development during the investigation of the Air India crash that killed 280 people, the DGCA has issued an order and said that Air India repeatedly committed serious violations in its crew scheduling. Notably, an Air India flight, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, going from Ahmedabad to Gatwick, London, crashed minutes after takeoff on June 12, 2025. In its order issued to Air India asking to remove three senior officials responsible for 'serious and repeated lapses' in crew scheduling, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has categorically mentioned 'systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability' at the airline, as per a report by IANS news agency. Air India officers held responsible As per the agency report, DGCA has 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. The above mentioned Air India 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, the report said. Who is Choorah Singh? Choorah Singh works as the Divisional Vice President (Integrated Operations Control Center) of Air India. Working in this position from January 2024, Choorah Singh operates from Gurugram, India. With respect to aviation, Choorah Singh has more than two decades of working in the aviation sector. Accusations against Choorah Singh! According to the DGCA order, Choorah Singh and his Air India colleagues have been accused of unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings; violation of mandatory licensing and recency norms; and systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversight. DGCA Order on Air India faults '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. (With inputs from agencies)
Hindustan Times
22-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
DGCA threatens to suspend Air India license over 'repeated violations'
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has warned that it may suspend or withdraw Air India's license after ordering the airline to remove three staffers from crucial operational roles over 'repeated and serious violations' related to pilot duty scheduling and oversight. Earlier in the day, a Delhi-bound 787-8 Dreamliner was returned to its origin Hong Kong airport after a suspected technical issue.(X/@Aviationa2z) As reported by Hindustan Times earlier, DGCA ordered an immediate removal of 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 regulatory body cited 'systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability' for its swift action. In its June 20 enforcement order, the DGCA highlighted 'systemic errors', saying, 'Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses. These officials have been involved in serious and repeated lapses.' The regulator issued stern warning 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.' Air India has come under growing scrutiny after the June 12 crash of its London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and at least 30 on the ground. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is probing the crash. While the DGCA did not directly link its latest enforcement action to the crash, documents seen by HT suggest that the regulator is stepping up scrutiny of the airline. Air India responds Air India said it has complied with the DGCA directive and removed the three officials named in the order 'In the interim, the company's chief operations officer will provide direct oversight to the IOCC,' the airline said in a statement. 'Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices.'
Time of India
22-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
DGCA Asks Air India to Act Against 3 Errant Officials
The civil aviation regulator has asked Air India to remove the head of its operations control centre and two other senior officials from operational roles and initiate disciplinary action against them, citing violation of pilot rest rules. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The civil aviation regulator has asked Air India to remove the head of its operations control centre and two other senior officials from operational roles and initiate disciplinary action against them, citing violation of pilot rest action is not connected to the June 12 crash of an Air India Boeing 787 aircraft in Ahmedabad that killed 241 of the 242 people on board and more than 30 on the its order on Friday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) warned the Tata Sons-controlled airline that a repeat of such violations could lead to the suspension of its has seen a copy of the order that names operations control centre head Choorah Singh and crew scheduling managers Pinky Mittal and Payal to the DGCA, these officials were involved in multiple lapses, including unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings, violations of licensing and crew rest rules and systemic failures in is the second time the same officials have been pulled up by the regulator. The DGCA had in February asked Air India to take action against the three after it discovered that a first officer operated a flight without the compulsory training Friday, the regulator also sent a show cause notice to Air India chief executive Campbell Wilson citing the violation and seeking an explanation within seven DGCA said during an audit of the airline, it found that the carrier had operated two flights on the Bengaluru-London route where the pilots exceeded the stipulated duty limit of 10 hours.'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,' the DGCA said.'The officials are also to be reassigned to non-operational roles,' the regulator said. It barred them from holding any position with direct influence on flight safety and crew India, in a statement, said chief operations officer Basil Kawuk will provide direct oversight to the Integrated Operations Control Centre. Kawuk joined Air India last year from Singapore Airlines.'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 the show cause notice to Wilson. Regulatory scrutiny of Air India's flight operations has increased following the crash. The DGCA is doing enhanced inspections of the Boeing 787 fleet of Air India. The scrutiny is extensive and includes 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 airline has said it would reduce flights to Europe and North America by 15% till mid-July to increase contingency aircraft to cater for cancellation, as flights have been delayed due to the DGCA checks as well as the closure of the Iran airspace that is forcing airlines a longer curfew in European airports to reduce noise pollution has further delayed the return leg as pilots also ran out of their permitted duty hours.
Mint
21-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
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.
