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24-06-2025
Bureau Report
NEW DELHI: Ten officials from India’s aviation safety watchdog will visit Air India headquarters on Tuesday for an annual audit, a government memo showed, just as the airline is facing intense scrutiny after a plane crash killed 271 people.
The audit is unrelated to the accident, but Air India has been getting warning notices for compliance lapses in recent days, and has also reduced its routes citing “operational stability” needs after the June 12 deadly crash of its Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab 787-8 Dreamliner in India’s Ahmedabad.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials will inspect documents related to Air India operations, previous audit findings and action-taken reports during the visit, according to a government memo seen by Reuters.
The 10-member DGCA team will include many flight operation inspectors and will be led by Adhiraj Yadav, a deputy chief flight operations inspector. Two officials to check on cabin safety norms are also in the team.
The “annual surveillance and regulatory audit” will last from June 24-26, and mandatorily requires top Air India executives to be present, the memo stated.
Air India and the DGCA did not respond to Reuters queries.
The watchdog on Saturday issued a warning to Air India for “repeated and serious violations” related to pilot duty scheduling, and directed the airline to remove three company executives from crew scheduling roles.
Air India was taken over by the Tata Group in 2022 and faces many challenges in its attempts to rebuild its image, after years of criticism from travelers for poor service.
Last week, Reuters also reported the authorities had also warned Air India for breaching safety rules after three of its Airbus planes flew despite being overdue for checks on emergency equipment of escape slides.
A couple of days ago, India’s aviation watchdog has issued a warning to Air India for “repeated and serious violations” related to pilot duty scheduling and oversight, according to government directives reviewed by Reuters on Saturday.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directed Air India to remove three company executives from crew scheduling roles – a divisional vice president, a chief manager of crew scheduling and one planning executive – for lapses linked to flights from Bengaluru to London on May 16 and May 17 that exceeded the stipulated pilot flight time limit of 10 hours.
The June 20 order cited “systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversights” and criticized the lack of strict disciplinary measures against responsible officials.
The latest action by the aviation authority against the airline is unrelated to this month’s crash of an Air India Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab 787-8 plane that killed all but one of the 242 people onboard but signal heightened scrutiny of the airline.
On Thursday, Reuters reported the authorities had also warned Air India for breaching safety rules after three of its Airbus planes flew despite being overdue for checks on emergency equipment of escape slides.
The latest order by assistant director of operations at the DGCA, Himanshu Srivastava, said: “Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible.”
In a statement to Reuters, Air India said it has implemented the DGCA order and in the interim, the company’s chief operations officer will provide direct oversight to the Integrated Operations Control Centre.
“Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices,” it added.
