Air India is back in trouble, this time due to grave safety concerns of crew fatigue and inadequate training of staff. India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has threatened to take serious action against the airline after it found several violations, as seen by Reuters in a report.
The airline has been accused of non-compliance with safety regulations on multiple occasions this year, as well as last year, in four government notifications issued on 23rd July. The notifications came close to a week after one of Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft crashed in Ahmedabad, killing 260 passengers, the world’s worst air disaster in the last decade.
The airline had disclosed on its last report. But although the revelation was voluntary, the DGCA was upset. It stated that the issues are no new development and that it has been warning the airline for many years. The notices indicate a series of 29 infractions ranging from not providing proper rest to pilots, to failing to meet simulator training requirements to taking international flights with a sparse number of cabin crew.
In one instance, Air India’s pilots received no special training before a flight to a high-altitude airport, which could be risky if mishandled.
“Despite repeated warning and enforcement action of non-compliance in the past, systemic issues related to compliance monitoring, crew planning, and training governance remain unresolved,” said one of the notices.
The airline responded by saying the notices were about safety issues it had disclosed on its own over the past year. “We remain committed to the safety of our crew and passengers,” the airline said in a statement.
The DGCA has not made any public comments yet.
Air India has come under severe scrutiny since the crash at Ahmedabad. A Preliminary report by AAIB on the accident showed some disturbing facts from within the cockpit.
This new warning by the DGCA only serves to enhance the mounting fears regarding how seriously Air India is approaching safety, not only for its passengers, but for its crew.
