The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday suspended Rajeev Gupta, Air India’s chief of flight safety, for a month after finding several lapses during a surveillance carried out in July.
“The DGCA surveillance (conducted on July 25 and 26) found deficiencies in the accident prevention work carried out by the organization and the availability of the requisite technical manpower as required in the approved flight safety manual and the relevant Civil Aviation Requirements,” said the regulator in a statement.
“Further, it was observed that some of the internal audit/spot checks claimed to be carried out by the airline were done in a perfunctory manner and not as per the regulatory requirements,” it said.
After the surveillance, the regulator requested an action taken report from the airline. Once Air India submitted the report, the regulator issued show cause notices to “concerned post holders”.
“Based on the review of the replies received, the airline has been directed not to assign any audits/surveillance/spot checks….to the particular auditor involved in the perfunctory inspections, which indicates lack of diligence. Further the approval of Chief of Flight Safety of Air India has been suspended for a period of one month for the lapses established,” said the DGCA.
There have been two major safety violations at Air India in the last couple of months.
The first instance is the July surveillance that was conducted by a two-member team of the regulator at the airline’s head office in Gurugram on July 25-26.
This team found that the airline was supposed to conduct internal safety checks in 13 areas. These include cargo, ramp, and cabin surveillance, but it allegedly fabricated reports in all 13 cases.
In the second instance, the regulator in August suspended Air India’s approved training organisation (ATO) licence. This halted operations for both its simulators: the Boeing simulator in Mumbai and the Airbus simulator in Hyderabad. This action was taken due to lapses identified during a spot check conducted by the regulator.
Consequently, the certification and licence renewal processes for Air India’s pilots were suspended after DGCA’s intervention.
On September 7, the DGCA conditionally reactivated Air India’s ATO licence for 30 days after the airline rectified the deficiencies found during the spot check. The regulator also instructed the airline to conduct an internal audit of its simulators within this 30-day period and submit a report.
All pilots are required to undergo compulsory licence renewals every six months using a simulator. They must also complete annual certification courses, including instrument rating, ground training refresher, and aviation security, using a simulator. Failure to undertake these certification courses and licence renewals prevents a pilot from operating a commercial flight.
As of August 1, Air India had 74 Airbus planes and 53 Boeing aircraft in its fleet, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
In February, Air India placed an order for 470 planes, with 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. This order represents the world’s second-largest single-tranche aircraft purchase.
The Boeing order includes 190 B737 MAX, 20 B787s, and 10 B777s.
The Airbus order comprises 210 A320 family aircraft and 40 A350 planes.
The A350, B777, and B787 are wide-body aircraft with larger fuel tanks. They can cover long distances, such as India-North America routes.
The Tata group assumed control of Air India in January the previous year. In 2022-23, Air India’s net loss increased by 19.16 per cent to Rs 11,387.96 crore. Last month, Air India unveiled its new logo and livery, featuring red, gold, and violet colours.
