DGCA fines Air India ₹1.1 cr for safety violations

The Indian civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation has imposed a penalty of ₹1.1 crore on Air India for safety violations on certain flights.

The airline has been fined for non-compliance of regulations and safety manuals in case of oxygen-related compliant requirements for operation of leased Boeing B777 aircraft.

As per the 24 January order, the regulator had received a complaint from an employee of the airline in October against Air India for alleged safety violations on flights operated on Mumbai/Bengaluru-San Francisco using leased Boeing B777 aircraft from November 2022 onwards.

"And whereas a comprehensive investigation was carried out with respect to said operations of Air India on B-777 (200 LR) aircraft leased from Delta airlines with 12 minutes chemical passenger oxygen system on BOM/BLR-SFO route," the order stated.

In aviation parlance, oxygen systems are devices which are known as chemical oxygen generators and they produce oxygen for around 12-15 minutes – enough time for a pilot to drop the plane to an altitude where supplementary oxygen is no longer needed.

The regulator had then examined the flight planning performance manual, aircraft flight manual, flight crew training manual, operations manual, relevant technical circulars issued by the airline to all pilots and dispatchers, standard operating procedures and computerized flight plans of Air India. In addition, DGCA also conducted spot checks at the airline's Gurugram office.

Earlier, the regulator had received a safety report from an employee of the airline alleging certain violations on some routes.

“Pursuant to the receipt of a voluntary safety report from an airline employee alleging safety violations of flights operated by M/s Air India on certain long range terrain critical routes, DGCA conducted a comprehensive investigation into the alleged violations,” the regulator said. 

The prima facie investigation by the regulator into the complaint against the Tata Group-backed Air India showed non-compliance and the regulator had then issued a show cause notice to the accountable manager of the airline. 

“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 DGCA added. 

Since the said operations of the leased aircraft were not in line with regulatory norms as well as the performance limits suggested by the aircraft manufacturer, DGCA has initiated enforcement action and imposed a penalty of ₹1.10 crore on Air India, the regulator added.

Last week, the aviation regulator had imposed a fine of ₹30 lakh on Air India for lapses in rostering of pilots for operating flights in low visibility conditions. After analysing the flight delay/cancellation/diversion-related data submitted by scheduled airlines for December 2023, DGCA had concluded that Air India did not roster CAT II/III and low visibility take-off qualified pilots for some of the flights.

In November, the regulator had imposed a fine of ₹10 lakh on Air India for its failure to comply with rules pertaining to facilities that are required to be provided to passengers. In this regard, the DGCA had carried out inspections of airlines at Delhi, Kochi and Bengaluru airports, and found that Air India was not complying with the provisions of the relevant Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR).