23 august 2024 : The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has levied a penalty of ₹98 lakh on Air India for conducting flights with inadequately qualified crew members, as stated by the aviation regulatory authority. Additionally, fines of ₹6 lakh and ₹3 lakh were imposed on the director of operations and the director of training at Air India, respectively.
The DGCA noted, “The pilot in question has been cautioned to take necessary precautions to avert similar incidents in the future. Air India Limited operated a flight under the command of a non-trainer line captain, paired with a first officer who had not been line-released, which the regulator has classified as a serious scheduling issue with considerable safety implications.”
This incident was brought to the attention of the DGCA through a voluntary report submitted by Air India on July 10. Subsequently, the DGCA conducted an investigation and identified several deficiencies and multiple violations of regulatory provisions by various post holders and staff members.
