DGCA Directs Air India to Shift 3 in Roster Wing
ARMS is the software platform used by the airline for various operational and management tasks, including crew rostering and flight planning, among others
New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed Air India to remove three officials, including a divisional vice-president, from all responsibilities related to crew scheduling and rostering over serious lapses and initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against them without delay. Air India has been asked to report the outcome of the inquiry against the erring officials within 10 days.
The DGCA has also issued a show-cause notice to Air India for violating flight duty time limitations (FDTL) norms for the crew. These violations were found during the spot checks of the airline's Bengaluru-London flights of May 16 and 17, wherein the FDTL had exceeded the 10-hour limit, as per the notice.
On the DGCA order for removal of three officials, Air India, in a statement, said it has acknowledged the regulator's directive and implemented the order. "In the interim, the company's chief operations officer will 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," the airline said on Saturday.
The DGCA order 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 the air route management system (ARMS) to the CAE Flight and Crew Management System."
ARMS is the software platform used by the airline for various operational and management tasks, including crew rostering and flight planning, among others.
The voluntary disclosures, "while noted, point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability," the DGCA order said and flagged that "a particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses".
The officials who have to be removed are divisional vice-president Choorah Singh, chief manager DOPS crew scheduling Pinky Mittal and crew scheduling planning Payal Mehta.
The DGCA noted that these officials have been involved in "serious and repeated lapses, including "unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings, violation of mandatory licensing and recency norms and systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversight". These officials shall be reassigned to non-operational roles pending the conclusion of corrective reform in scheduling practices and shall not hold any position involving direct influence over flight safety and crew compliance until further notice.
The DGCA also warned Air India that future violations in crew scheduling will invite "strict action", including licence suspension and operational restrictions.
The latest direction from DGCA has come at a time when the airline has been under strict scrutiny in the aftermath of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad last week.