The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 95 lakh on Air India for operating flight with non-qualified crew members. In addition, the DGCA also slapped penalties of Rs 6 lakh and Rs 3 lakh on the director operations and director training of Air India, respectively.
The incident came to the notice of DGCA through a voluntary report submitted by Air India on July 10, the regulator said. The DGCA added that it carried out an investigation and found out that there are deficiencies and multiple violations to the regulatory provisions by several post holders and staff, which could significantly affect safety.
“The concerned pilot has been warned to exercise caution to prevent such occurrences in future. M/s Air India Limited operated a flight commanded by a non-trainer line captain paired with a non-line-released first officer which has been viewed by the regulator as a serious scheduling incident having significant safety ramifications,” the DGCA said in a statement.
