The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has slapped a hefty fine of ₹90 lakh on Air India, owned by the Tata Group, for operating a flight with unqualified pilots.
Additionally, the aviation regulator has fined Air India’s Director of Operations, Pankul Mathur, ₹6 lakh, and Director of Training, Manish Vasavada, ₹3 lakh for their involvement in the incident. The DGCA’s actions came after an investigation uncovered significant safety violations and regulatory breaches by the airline.
In a release, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) reported that the pilot involved has been cautioned to be more vigilant to avoid similar incidents in the future. The release said, “Air India Ltd operated a flight commanded by a non-trainer line captain paired with a non-line-released first officer which has been viewed by the regulator as a serious scheduling incident having significant safety ramifications,” the release said. For the violations, DGCA has imposed a fine of Rs 90 lakh on Air India, Rs 6 lakh on the Director of Operations and Rs 3 lakh on the Director of Training.
After the incident was brought to its attention through a voluntary report submitted by the airline on July 10, the regulator conducted an investigation into the carrier’s operations, which included a review of documentation and a spot check of the scheduling facility.
“Based on the investigation, it was prima facie revealed that there are deficiencies and multiple violations of regulatory provisions by several post holders and staff, which could significantly impact safety,” the release stated.
DGCA also said the flight’s commander and the post holders of the airline were provided an opportunity to explain their position through show cause notices issued on July 22.
The reply submitted by the concerned persons failed to provide satisfactory justification. As such, DGCA has initiated enforcement action in terms of provisions of the extant rules/ regulations and imposed the above penalty, the watchdog noted.