India's watchdog warns Air India for breaching pilots' flight duty timings

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -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 criticised 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 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.

The DGCA stated in its order that Air India had voluntarily disclosed the violations.

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.

The Indian regulator, like many abroad, often fines airlines for compliance lapses. India's government in February told parliament that authorities had warned or fined airlines in 23 instances for safety violations last year.

Around half of them - 12 - involved Air India and Air India Express. The biggest fine was $127,000 on Air India for "insufficient oxygen on board" during some international flights.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)