The regulator also directed the airline to conduct an internal investigation and report its findings in ten days.

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New Delhi: Citing “serious and repeated lapses” in its scheduling and operation of flight crew, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed Air India to remove three officials it found responsible from roles involving crew scheduling and rostering.

It also issued a show cause notice to the airline on the grounds that it operated two flights from Bengaluru to London last month exceeding a ten-hour flight time limit for crew.

Both the DGCA’s order and notice dated Friday (June 20) are unrelated to the fatal crash of the London-bound Air India flight 171 last week in Ahmedabad, reports said, noting however that they come amid increased scrutiny of the airline in the aftermath of the accident.

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In an order, the DGCA said that the airline had voluntarily disclosed to it “repeated and serious violations” regarding the scheduling and operation of flight crew regardless of “lapses in licensing, rest and recency requirements”.

These disclosures “point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring and internal accountability”, the regulator said.

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Particularly concerning, it added, was the absence of “strict disciplinary measures” against key officials accountable for these lapses. The DGCA went on to identify three Air India executives ‘directly responsible’: a divisional vice president and two crew scheduling officials.

Having ordered their removal from all crew scheduling and rostering responsibilities, the DGCA said an internal investigation against the three officials must be initiated and its findings be reported to the regulator by the end of the month.

Future violations of crew scheduling norms, licensing requirements or flight time regulations will result in action that could include “penalties, license suspension or withdrawal of operator permissions”, it warned.

Air India in statements made to the press acknowledged the DGCA’s order and said it has implemented its directives.

The regulator also issued a show cause notice to the airline for operating two flights from Bengaluru to London on May 16 and 17 exceeding a ten-hour flight time limit.

It gave Air India seven days to show cause as to why enforcement action should not be taken against it. “Failure to submit your reply within the stipulated period shall result in the matter being decided ex parte based on the evidence available on record,” it added.

DGCA norms dealing with pilots’ rest and duty hours stipulate a limit to flight and duty hours, and the aforementioned ten hour limit pertains to flight crew, The Hindu noted. The ‘recency requirements’ referred to in the DGCA’s order deal with a pilot’s experience operating an aircraft in a stipulated timeline, it also wrote.

Earlier this week, the regulator pulled Air India up for flying three Airbus aircraft that were overdue on checks of its escape slides, Reuters reported.

Air India’s failure to “submit timely compliance responses … further [evidenced] weak procedural control and oversight,” the DGCA was quoted as saying.

The Wire has reported that despite a rise in the number of passengers served by India’s aviation sector, the DGCA has experienced fund cuts and vacancies in recent years. A former official from the watchdog said its shortage of personnel was hampering its functions, including conducting surprise spot checks.

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