'Repeated & serious violations': DGCA asks Air India to remove 3 officials from all roles related to crew rostering

New Delhi: In more trouble for Air India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked the Tata Group-owned airline to remove its three senior officials, including a Divisional Vice President, from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling and rostering and initiate proceedings against them for serious lapses.

Separately, it slapped a show-cause notice on the airline for violating Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms for the crew detected during spot checks of its Bengaluru-London flights of May 16 and 17 where the 10-hour limit was exceeded. It said the Accountable Manager of Air India Ltd has failed to ensure adherence to the provisions and gave seven days to respond.

The two notices on June 20 come a week after an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed within a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on June 12 killing all 242 but one on board.

In its order on removal of officers, the DGCA has warned Air India that future violations in crew scheduling will invite "strict enforcement action, including but not limited to penalties, licence suspension or withdrawal of operator permission".

Air India said it has "implemented the order" and in the interim, the company's Chief Operations Officer would provide direct oversight to the Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC). Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices, it said.

The DGCA said, "repeated and serious violations voluntarily disclosed by Air India concerning flight crew being scheduled and operated despite lapses in licensing, rest, and recency requirements. These violations were discovered during the post-transition review from ARMS to the CAE Flight and Crew Management System."

ARMS (Air Route Management System) is the software platform used by the airline for various operational and management tasks, including crew rostering and flight planning, among others. The airline had shifted to another platform.

"The voluntary disclosures, while noted, point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability. Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses," the order said.

It identified Divisional Vice President Choorah Singh, Chief Manager (DOPS, Crew Scheduling) Pinky Mittal and Payal Arora (Crew Scheduling-Planning) as "directly responsible" for the "continued non-compliance".

These officials have been involved in "serious and repeated lapses", which included" unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings, violation of mandatory licensing and recency norms and systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversight". Internal disciplinary proceedings must be initiated against them "without delay" and its outcome should be reported within ten days, the DGCA said.

They should be re-assigned to non-operational roles pending conclusion of corrective reforms on scheduling practices and should not hold any position involving direct influence over flight safety and crew compliance till further notice, the regulator said.