In a serious move, aviation regulator DGCA has ordered Air India to take strict action against three senior staff members over repeated violations in flight crew scheduling. This comes just days after the tragic crash of Air India Flight 171 near Ahmedabad, which claimed 241 lives.
Air India had voluntarily reported several safety issues, revealing that some flight crew were being assigned duties without fulfilling essential licensing, rest, and recency requirements. These lapses came to light during a system shift from ARMS to the CAE crew management software.
The DGCA, in its June 20 order, pointed out “systemic failures” in monitoring and accountability. The three officials directly held responsible are Choorah Singh (Divisional VP), Pinky Mittal (Chief Manager, Crew Scheduling), and Payal Arora (Crew Planning).
They’ve been accused of repeatedly allowing unauthorized crew pairings and ignoring safety protocols. DGCA has ordered their immediate removal from all crew scheduling duties and wants internal disciplinary action to begin right away, with a report expected within 10 days.
Until Air India overhauls its crew scheduling practices, these individuals will remain in non-operational roles. The airline, responding to the directive, stated it has already implemented the changes and that the COO will now directly oversee crew operations.
“Air India is committed to full safety compliance,” the airline said, promising stricter oversight going forward.