New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 1.10 crore on Air India for safety violations on some “long-range terrain critical routes”.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the aviation regulator said it had conducted a comprehensive investigation following a receipt of a voluntary safety report from an airline employee alleging safety violations of flights operated by Air India on said routes.
“Since the investigation prima facie revealed non-compliance by the airline, a show cause notice was issued to the accountable manager of Air India Limited. The response to the show cause notice was duly examined with respect to the laid down stipulations under the relevant statutory provisions and the performance limits stipulated in critical documentations laid down by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM),” the statement said.
It added that since the operations of the leased aircraft were not in line with regulatory/OEM performance limits, DGCA has initiated enforcement action and imposed a penalty of Rs. 1.10 crore on Air India.
Asked to comment, a spokesperson for Air India told ThePrint Wednesday: “We disagree with the order issued by the DGCA. The issues raised were thoroughly examined by Air India along with external experts concluding that there was no compromise on safety, whatsoever. We are studying the order in detail and will review the options available to us including our right to appeal as well as taking it up with the regulator.”
According to reports, in January 2023, an Air India pilot had refused to operate a Boeing 777-200 long-range on the San Francisco-Bengaluru route, pointing out that the aircraft did not have sufficient quantity of stored breathing oxygen for the planned route. The pilot who is no longer with the airline had filed a complaint against the airline last October.
The latest action comes a week after the DGCA imposed a penalty of Rs 30 lakh each on Air India and SpiceJet for failure to comply with pilot rostering requirements when operating flights in low visibility situations.
According to a separate statement issued by the regulator Wednesday, during 2023, it intensified its safety oversight efforts, conducting 5,745 surveillances, including 4,039 planned surveillance and 1,706 spot checks and night surveillance. This was the most intensive surveillance undertaken by the DGCA in a single year, it added.
“This marked a notable increase of 26 percent of surveillance activities compared to the year 2022, emphasising the commitment to ensure compliance and safety within the aviation landscape… consequent to the findings of the surveillance conducted… a total of 542 enforcement actions were taken in the year 2023 witnessing a 77 percent increase as compared to the 305 enforcement actions carried out for the year 2022,” it said.
Significant enforcement actions for 2023 included suspension of Air India’s approved training organization (ATO) licence and penalties on airlines including Air India, Air Asia, Indigo and SpiceJet for various non-compliances, it said.
The statement added that enforcement actions were also taken over the past year against erring pilots/cabin crew, ATCOs (air traffic control officers), non-scheduled airlines, flying training organisations and aerodrome operators.
This report has been updated to reflect Air India’s response
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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