The Directorate General of Civic Aviation on Thursday imposed a Rs 90 lakh fine on Tata Group-owned Air India for operating a flight with non-qualified pilots.
In addition to the fine on the airline, the aviation body also imposed fines of Rs 6 lakh and Rs 3 lakh on Air India’s Director of Operations Pankul Mathur and Director of Training Manish Vasavada.
“Air India Ltd 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 wrote in a press release.
DGCA also noted through show cause notices issued on July 22 that the flight’s commander and the airline’s post holders will have an opportunity to explain their position.
The regulator began investigating the airline after a voluntary report was submitted by the airline on July 10.
“Based on investigation, it was prima facie revealed that there are deficiencies and multiple violations of the regulatory provisions by several post holders and staff, which could significantly affect safety,” the release noted.