Following a series of safety violations, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed Air India to remove three senior officials from their positions with immediate effect. This directive comes in the wake of a recent Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that claimed 270 lives. The aviation regulator has identified these officials as being directly responsible for serious and repeated lapses in crew scheduling and rostering, which have compromised flight safety.
The DGCA's action follows a post-transition audit of Air India's operations after the airline shifted from the ARMS platform to the CAE Flight and Crew Management System. The audit revealed that flight crew were being scheduled and operated in violation of mandatory licensing, flight duty time, and rest period regulations, which are key requirements for ensuring flight safety.
Specifically, the identified lapses include unauthorized and non-compliant crew pairings, violations of mandatory licensing and recency norms, and systemic failures in scheduling protocols and oversight. A particularly concerning incident involved a long-haul Bangalore to London flight where pilots were operating beyond their legally permissible flight duty hours, thus breaching prescribed safety limits.
The three officials who have been directed to be removed are Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President; Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager in the Directorate of Operations, Crew Scheduling; and Payal Arora, Crew Scheduling – Planning. The DGCA has instructed Air India to initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against these officials without delay and report the outcome of these proceedings within 10 days.
Pending the conclusion of corrective reforms in scheduling practices, the officials will be reassigned to non-operational roles. They will not hold any position involving direct influence over flight safety and crew compliance until further notice. This measure is intended to ensure that those responsible for the lapses are held accountable and that immediate steps are taken to rectify the systemic issues within the airline's scheduling practices.
In its order, the DGCA emphasized that while Air India voluntarily disclosed the violations, the disclosures point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability. The regulator expressed particular concern over the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses.
The DGCA has also suspended Air India's head of crew rostering. These actions by the DGCA underscore the seriousness with which the aviation regulator is treating the safety lapses at Air India. The regulator is sending a clear message that it will not tolerate any compromise in safety standards and that it will take strict action against those who violate the rules.
