dgca-removes-3-air-india-staff-after-breach

India's aviation safety regulator has ordered Air India to reassign three top officials from crew scheduling responsibilities after finding serious violations of aviation safety standards.

 

The action follows the fatal Air India crash immediately after departure from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, resulting in more than 270 deaths.

 

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), issuing a directive on 20 June, named the officials as Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President; Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager – DOPS, Crew Scheduling; and Payal Arora, Crew Scheduling – Planning.

 

The regulator said the three were involved in repeated violations, such as unauthorized crew pairing, violations of licensing requirements, non-compliance with crew rest standards, and systemic failures in monitoring.

 

DGCA ordered Air India to redeploy the officers to non-flying duties straight away.

 

They cannot be posted in any job that would have direct control over flight safety or compliance of crew until corrective actions are undertaken. Disciplinary action must also be initiated within the airline and a detailed report must be sent within 10 days.

 

The said officials shall be reallocated to non-operational positions subject to completion of corrective reforms in scheduling operations," the order read, stating that they "shall not assume any position with direct control over flight safety and crew compliance until otherwise notified by management."

 

The shortcomings came up during a post-transition audit, which was conducted as the carrier transitioned from its ARMS system to the new CAE Flight and Crew Management platform.

 

In another order, the DGCA also served a show-cause notice on Air India's Accountable Manager following a spot check where flights AI-133, flying from Bengaluru to London on 16 and 17 May, had been found to have violated the allowed flight time limit of 10 hours.

 

It has been seen that the Accountable Manager of Air India operated two flights on the sector Bangalore to London (AI-133) on 16 May 2025 and 17 May 2025, both of which were over the prescribed flight time of 10 hours," the DGCA stated.

 

The officer concerned has been asked to reply within seven days, stating why action for enforcement should not be taken for this violation.