DGCA fines Air India Rs 98 lakh for operating flights with non-qualified crew members

The DGCA has fined Air India for operating flight with non-qualified crew members

The Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a fine of Rs 98 lakh on Air India for operating flights with non-qualified crew members, the aviation regulator said in a statement on August 23.

Additionally, the civil aviation watchdog imposed a fine of Rs 6 lakh and Rs 3 lakh on director operations and director training of Air India, respectively.

Air India operated a flight commanded by a non-trainer line captain paired with a non-line-released first officer which has been viewed by the regulator as a serious scheduling incident having significant safety ramifications, the DGCA said.

The incident came to the notice of DGCA through a voluntary report submitted by Air India on July 10, the regulator said, adding that it carried out an investigation and found out that there are deficiencies and multiple violations to the regulatory provisions by several post holders and staff, which could significantly affect safety.

"The concerned pilot has been warned to exercise caution to prevent such occurrences in future. M/s Air India Limited operated a flight commanded by a non-trainer line captain paired with a non-line-released first officer which has been viewed by the regulator as a serious scheduling incident having significant safety ramifications," the DGCA said in a statement.

The aviation regulator had on July 22 issued a show-cause notice to the flight commander involved in the incident on July 10 and Air India but was not satisfied with response from the airline or the pilot.

In March 2024, the DGCA has imposed a fine of Rs 80 lakhs on Air India for violation of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) and fatigue management system (FMS) of flight crew. The fine was imposed after carrier's response to an earlier show cause notice was deemed "non satisfactory."

This is the twelfth fine Air India has been issued by the DGCA in the last 18 months. The airline has been fined around Rs 5 crore for various fines including a Rs 1.10 crore on Air India over allegations of safety violations of flights on certain long-range terrain critical routes and a Rs 10 lakh fine for failure to comply with rules about facilities that are required to be provided to passengers.