Air India Fined Rs 80 Lakh For Violating Crew Safety Guidelines

The national aviation watchdog has fined Air India Rs 80 lakh for violation of norms related to flight duty time limitations (FDTL) and fatigue management system of flight crew. The violations were flagged after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), conducted a spot audit in January.

Following this, a show-cause notice was sent to Air India on March 1.

Pursuant to a non-satisfactory response by the operator, the fine of Rs 80 lakh was imposed, the DGCA said in its statement.

"Analysis of reports and evidence revealed Air India Limited operated flight(s) with both flight crew aged above 60 years... in (a) few instances, which is a violation of Sub Rule (2) of Rule 28 A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937," the DGCA statement said.

"The operator was also found deficient in providing adequate weekly rest, adequate rest before and after ultra-long range (ULR) flights, and adequate rest on layover to flight crew, which violates the extant provisions of the Civil Aviation Requirements pertaining to FDTL," the watchdog said.

Instances of pilots exceeding duty periods and being wrongly marked on training records, as well as overlapping of duties, were also observed during the audit, the DGCA said.

The watchdog stressed that it is "committed to maintaining the highest levels of safety in the civil aviation sector in India and this enforcement action is in line with its commitment".