New Delhi: In the first major action against Air India after the June 12 Ahmedabad air crash, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered the airline to take immediate action against three senior officials following “serious and repeated violations” related to flight crew scheduling.
According to officials, these lapses, voluntarily disclosed by the airline, revealed that flight crew were scheduled and operated despite not meeting mandatory licensing, rest, and recency norms.
The violations were uncovered during a post-transition review from the Aviation Resource Management System (ARMS) — an integrated system airlines use for crew management – to the CAE Flight and Crew Management System.
“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 dated June 20 stated.
DGCA stated that it has identified three officials as directly accountable. They are Choorah Singh, divisional vice president, Pinky Mittal, chief manager in the Directorate of Operations, Crew Scheduling, and Payal Arora, Crew Scheduling – Planning.
“Internal disciplinary proceedings must be initiated against these officials without delay, and the outcome of such proceedings shall be reported to this office within 10 days from the date of issue of this letter,” the order stated.
The DGCA directed Air India to remove the three officials from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling and rostering.
It ordered that the three officials be reassigned to non-operational roles pending the conclusion of corrective reforms in scheduling practices. They are not to hold any position involving direct influence over flight safety and crew compliance until further notice.
These officials have been held responsible for serious and repeated lapses, including unauthorized and non-compliant crew pairings, violations of mandatory licensing and recency norms, and systemic failures in scheduling protocols and oversight.
“Any future violation of crew scheduling norms, licensing, or flight time limitations detected in any post-audit or inspection will attract strict enforcement action, including but not limited to penalties, license suspension, or withdrawal of operator permissions, as applicable,” DGCA has warned.
