Aviation regulator DGCA imposes Rs 10 lakh fine on Akasa Air

Mumbai: Aviation regulator DGCA has slapped a Rs 10 lakh penalty on Akasa Air for failing to provide compensation on time to some passengers who were denied boarding at the Bangalore airport in September, according to a source.

In recent months, the more than two-and-a-half-year-old airline has come under the scanner of the regulator for certain alleged violations. Earlier this month, some pilots had also flagged concerns about training at the carrier, which has termed the allegations as baseless.

The latest action by the DGCA pertains to the denial of boarding of seven passengers who had booked a flight from Bangalore to Pune on September 6. The aircraft, which was to operate the flight, was grounded on account of foreign object damage and the replacement aircraft had nine non-operational seats as a result of which seven passengers were denied boarded, the source told PTI on Tuesday.

Later, the passengers were moved to an Indigo flight with a scheduled departure time of 2240 hours which was more than one hour of the scheduled departure time of the actual Akasa flight.

The source said that no compensation was paid to the passengers which was non-compliance with DGCA norms.

In an order dated December 23, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said Akasa Air initiated the process of providing compensation to the passengers concerned only after the regulator issued a show cause notice, as per the source.

The watchdog had given a Deficiency Reporting Form (DRF) to Akasa Air and the airline was asked to submit its response, including the root cause for the deficiency and the corrective action taken.

The source noted that in response, the airline justified the denial of boarding of the seven passengers due to unserviceable seats and that an alternate flight was arranged without any compensation.

DGCA has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on the airline, citing that the corrective action could have been initiated before the closure of the DRF, the source said.

An airline spokesperson on Tuesday said it has received an order from the DGCA.

"We continue to work closely with the DGCA to address this matter and enhance our protocols as required by the regulator," the spokesperson said in a statement.

In December alone, the airline has been served at least two show cause notices by the regulator.

On December 16, DGCA issued a show cause notice to Akasa Air for violation of norms related to the airline's operations manual and on December 9, a show cause notice was served to an airline maintenance engineer for poor (maintenance) standards and certification.

Akasa Air, which currently has a fleet of 26 planes, faced another headwind last week when some pilots flagged concerns about safety and training practices.

In a letter dated December 11 to Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, they had also sought an independent investigation into Akasa Air's management practices, training method and safety standards.

Among other issues, the letter alleged that the airline's claims of maintaining the highest safety standards are misleading.

Akasa Air on December 12 termed the allegations as baseless and untrue and that they do not represent the views of the airline pilots.