Air India Gets 4 DGCA Show Cause Notices For Safety, Training Breaches
Notices follow airline’s voluntary disclosures; violations linked to ultra long-haul flights, crew training, and duty norms
New Delhi: Air India has once again come on the wrong side of the aviation regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), this time over staffing and rest issues of the crew. The DGCA has issued four show cause notices to the airline for 29 violations pertaining to rest and duty time for pilots and cabin crew, violation of training rules and operational procedures, and assigning fewer cabin crew on at least four ultra long range (ULR) flights than mandated. The notices were issued on the basis of voluntary disclosures made by Air India to the DGCA.
"We acknowledge receipt of these notices from the regulator related to certain voluntary disclosures that were made over the last one year by Air India. We will respond to the said notices within the stipulated period. We remain committed to the safety of our crew and passengers," Air India spokesperson said.
Three show cause notices have been issued based on the voluntary disclosures made by Air India on June 20, including violations of cabin crew duty and rest regulations with respect to four ultra long range flights -- two operated on April 27 and one each on April 28 and May 2. The required cabin crew strength on ULR is of 15 but on one flight 12 were deployed and one other three 14 were deployed.
“Such non compliance represents a serious breach of regulatory requirements and raises concerns about the safety management and operational oversight within your organisation,” the DGCA notice said while asking for a response within 15 days.
One of the DGCA show cause notices pertains to violations of flight duty period/ weekly rest violations with respect to flights operated on June 24, 2024, and June 13, 2025. Another show cause notice, based on the airline's voluntary disclosures made on June 21, is about three instances of violations in cabin crew training and operational procedures. These violations happened in some of the flights operated on April 10-11, February 16-May 19 and December 1, 2024. Besides, there were another 19 instances of violations in crew training and operational procedures. “These instances reflect a repeated systematic failure in adhering to Civil Aviation Requirements,” the DGCA notice said.
Meanwhile, 112 pilots reported sick to overcome mental trauma after Air India AI 171 plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12. "Air India reported a minor increase in sick leaves reported by pilots across all fleets in the aftermath of the AI-171 accident. On 16.06.2025, a total of 112 pilots reported sick, comprising of 51 Commanders (P1) and 61 First Officers (P2),” Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mr Murlidhar Mohol said in Lok Sabha in response to a question by Member of Parliament Mr Jai Prakash who asked if Air India has been experiencing mass sick reporting by its flight crew members, following the June 12 crash. The MP also asked if the government has taken remedial measures such as holding post-trauma mental health workshops to mitigate their stress.
The MoS said the DGCA medical circular, issued in February 2023, had advised airlines to have a separate, standalone and customised training capsule for the flight crew and Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) to recognise and manage the adverse effects of mental health conditions.
"Additionally, on mental health monitoring, the organisations (scheduled and non-scheduled operators, Flying Training Organisations and Airports Authority of India were also advised to have a Peer Support Programme (PSP) in place for their employees. The organisations are required to enable, facilitate and ensure access to this proactive and non-punitive programme that will assist and support flight crew/ATCs in recognising, coping with and overcoming any problem," Mr Mohol said.
On a question on the investigation of the plane crash, the MoS said every aspect is being looked into for determining the probable causes and contributory factors leading to the accident. He added that the Flight Recorders of the aircraft have not been sent abroad and the data from one of the Flight Recorders has been downloaded in the Flight Recorder Laboratory of the AAIB at Udaan Bhawan, New Delhi.
In another written reply, Mr Mohol said that at present, there is no specific policy with the civil aviation ministry related to compensation for damages suffered by civilians on the ground due to a plane crash.
