The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a substantial financial penalty of Rs 90 lakh on Air India, a Tata Group subsidiary, following an investigation into a serious safety violation.
The penalty is a response to the airline operating a flight with a non-qualified crew.
Along with the fine on the airline, SEBI has imposed Rs 6 lakh on the Director of Operations and Rs 3 lakh on the Director of Training.
The pilot involved has also received a cautionary warning to ensure adherence to safety protocols in the future.
The violation came to light when Air India reported the issue voluntarily on 10 July.
The DGCA found that a flight had operated with a non-trainer line captain and a non-line-released first officer.
This incident, deemed a significant safety risk by the regulator, prompted a thorough review of the airline’s scheduling and operational procedures.
The DGCA noted, “Our investigation uncovered several deficiencies and regulatory violations that pose a serious safety threat.”
The DGCA found the airline’s responses to the show cause notices issued on 22 July unsatisfactory.
Earlier, the DGCA had taken action against two pilots grounded due to a rostering error that allowed a trainee pilot to operate a Mumbai-Riyadh flight without the oversight of a training captain.
The training captain fell ill, and a regular line captain was substituted, leading to the trainee flying without the necessary supervision.
The regulator categorized this lapse as a significant safety concern.
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