DGCA slaps Rs 99 lakh fine on Air India for operating flight with unqualified pilots

The aviation regulator emphasized that the incident had "serious safety implications."

According to the DGCA, the incident occurred around July 10 when a trainee pilot and a non-instructor pilot jointly operated a commercial flight for the airline,breaching safety regulations.

The penalties include Rs 90 lakh on Air India, Rs 6 lakh on the airline’s director of operations, and Rs 3 lakh on its director of training.

"Furthermore, the pilot concerned has been warned to exercise caution to prevent such occurrences in future. Air India 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," it said.

The DGCA took cognisance of the incident through a voluntary report submitted by Air India on July 10. "Taking cognisance of this incident, the regulator undertook comprehensive investigations into Air India operations including examination of documentation and spot check of Air India's scheduling facility. Based on investigation, it was prima facie revealed that there are deficiencies and multiple violations to the regulatory provisions by several post  holders and staff, which could significantly affect safety," the DGCA noted.

Show cause notices were issued on July 22 to the pilot-in-command of the flight and the executives of the airline in connection with this incident.

"The reply submitted by the concerned 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," said the regulator.

In recent years, the airline has faced criticism from the regulator on multiple occasions. Already, there have been four instances this year when the DGCA rapped the airline for failure to observe aviation norms.