Air India Asked to Act Against 3 Senior Officials Over ‘Serious Safety Lapses’
India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has ordered Air India to take immediate action against three senior officials, including a divisional vice president, for “serious and repeated violations” related to flight crew scheduling and safety norms.
The directive, issued in an order dated June 20, comes at a time of intense scrutiny for the airline following the fatal crash of its flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad last week, which killed 274 people.
The DGCA has directed Air India to remove the three officials from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling and rostering and to initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against them without delay. The airline has been asked to report the outcome of these proceedings to the regulator within 10 days.
The officials identified by the DGCA as being directly accountable are Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President; Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager in the Directorate of Operations, Crew Scheduling; and Payal Arora, from Crew Scheduling – Planning.
The lapses came to light after being voluntarily disclosed by Air India during a post-transition review of its crew management systems. The airline revealed that flight crew were scheduled and operated despite not meeting mandatory licensing, rest, and recency norms.
While the DGCA noted the disclosure was voluntary, it slammed the violations as indicative of “systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability.” The regulator’s order expressed particular concern over the “absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses.”
The officials will be reassigned to non-operational roles pending the conclusion of corrective reforms. The DGCA has also issued a stern warning to the airline, stating that any future violation of crew scheduling norms or flight time limitations will attract strict enforcement action, which could include heavy penalties, license suspensions, or even the withdrawal of operator permissions.
