Air India faces ₹98 lakh fine; operated flights with ‘non-qualified’ pilots, DGCA says.

DGCA fines Air India ₹98 lakh for operating flights with non-qualified crew members. The Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed a fine of ₹98 lakh on Air India for operating flights with non-qualified crew members, the aviation regulator said. The civil aviation watchdog imposed a fine of ₹6 lakh and ₹3 lakh on director operations and director training of Air India, as per the statement. “The concerned pilot has been warned to exercise caution to prevent such occurrences in future. M/s Air India Limited 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 said in a statement. The incident came to the notice of DGCA through a voluntary report submitted by Air India on July 10, the regulator said. Following this, DGCA carried out an investigation and found out that there are deficiencies and multiple violations to the regulatory provisions by several post holders and staff.