As a result of Air India pilot-in-failure command’s to perform his duties in accordance with the law, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) fined the airline $30 lakh and suspended him for three months on Friday.
On Air India flight AI-102, which was travelling from New York to Delhi on November 26, a male passenger is said to have urinated on a female passenger. The aviation regulator asserted that they were first made aware of the occurrence after media publications brought attention to it.
Despite receiving the woman passenger’s complaint on November 27, Air India didn’t file a first information report (FIR) until January 4 and didn’t notify the DGCA until that day.
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The DGCA sent show-cause letters to all of the pilots and cabin crew members of the flight, asking them to explain “why enforcement action should not be taken against them for dereliction of their regulatory obligations.”
DCGA representatives expressed their dissatisfaction with Air India’s written response that was provided to them on Thursday. In conjunction with the instance involving the urinating, Air India provided an internal report.
The aviation authority assessed a fine of 30 lakh for a violation of the relevant DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements based on Air India’s response to DGCA (CAR).
According to the DGCA, the pilot-in-command of the aforementioned flight’s licence has also been suspended for a period of three months for failing to perform his duties in accordance with Rule 141 of the 1937 Aircraft Rules and the related DGCA CAR.
In addition, it fined the director of Air India’s in-flight services three lakh rupees for failing to carry out her responsibilities in accordance with the relevant DGCA CAR. In response to the DGCA’s order, Air India said in a statement that it is raising crew awareness and taking the necessary action to ensure that it won’t happen again.
“We have received the order from the director general of civil aviation for today and are reviewing it. We humbly accept the shortcomings in our reporting and are making the necessary preparations to fill them.”
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Air India further stated, “Additionally, we are enhancing the knowledge and adherence of our personnel to the procedures for handling instances involving disruptive passengers.” An Air India representative stated on Friday that the airline was dedicated to upholding the security and welfare of its customers.
In the meantime, Shankar Mishra, the defendant in the urinating case, was given a four-month suspension by Air India on Thursday. Following the discovery of the incident, it had earlier declared Mishra to be under a 30-day restriction.
