Air India’s Woes Continue: Rs 80 Lakh Fined For Crew Safety Violations
A fine of Rs 80 lakhs has been imposed on Air India Limited by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), citing violations to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDLT) and Fatigue Management System (FMS) of flight crew. Over the past two years, the aviation regulator has fined Air India for several lapses.
A spot audit of Air India was conducted in January to verify the regulatory compliance of the operator when the DGCA found the glaring violations. The aviation watchdog also found violations, such as both pilots operating a plane being older than 60 years. Air India was found to be denying adequate weekly rest, rest on layover, and rest before and after ultra-long range (ULR) flights to the crew members. These practices stand in direct violation of the Civil Aviation Requirements regarding FDTL.
Wrongly marked training records, exceeding duty periods, and overlapping duties, among other violations, were also observed by the DGCA during the audit.
In a statement, the DGCA said, “The analysis of reports and evidence revealed that M/s Air India Limited operated flight(s) with both flight crew aged above 60 years flying together in a few instances, which is a violation of Sub Rule (2) of Rule 28 A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937.”
On March 1, following the spot audit, the DGCA sent a show cause notice to Air India, seeking its response to the violations. However, the response was found unsatisfactory by the DGCA, and a fine of Rs 80 lakh was imposed on the airline.
In January this year, the DGCA imposed a fine of Rs 1.1 crore on Air India for violating safety rules on flights. The action was taken after a pilot filed a complaint accusing Air India of carrying an insufficient quantity of emergency oxygen on its B777 aircraft, which operates on India-US routes. The long-range routes are considered to be “critical” in terrain. Although the Tata Group-run airline claimed that there was no compromise on safety.
Last month, the DGCA fined Air India a penalty of Rs 30 lakh after the airline failed to provide a wheelchair to an elderly passenger at the Mumbai airport, despite having booked for one in advance.
Last year, in November, the DGCA imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Air India after the airline failed to compensate passengers who were affected by delayed flights and unserviceable seats. The regulator also found Air India to have failed to train its ground personnel as per regulations.
In June 2023, the watchdog suspended two Air India pilots for allowing an unauthorised person to enter the cockpit during the Chandigarh-Leh flight.
In January 2023, the DGCA had fined Rs 30 lakh after finding lapses in the airline’s handling of an incident wherein a man had urinated on a female co-passenger on a New York to Delhi flight. In June 2022, Air India was fined Rs 10 lakh for failing to compensate passengers with valid tickets who were denied boarding.
