DELHI- The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of India announced on Thursday (September 21, 2023) that it has suspended Rajeev Gupta, the Chief of Flight Safety at Air India (AI), which is owned by the Tata Group, for one month due to certain shortcomings.
In late July, DGCA conducted a surveillance operation of Air India, focusing on areas such as internal audit, accident prevention measures, and the availability of necessary technical staff.
Air India Safety Chief
During the surveillance, deficiencies were identified in the accident prevention measures implemented by Air India and the availability of the required technical personnel as outlined in the approved Flight Safety Manual and relevant Civil Aviation Requirements.
As a result of these findings, DGCA has suspended the approval of Air India’s Chief of Flight Safety for a period of one month. Rajeev Gupta serves as the Chief of Flight Safety at Air India Ltd.
Previously, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken action against the full-service private carrier for alleged violations and lapses.
Flight Simulator Approval Suspension
Last month, the regulator suspended Air India’s training facilities’ ATO (Approved Training Organization) approval in Mumbai and Hyderabad for a period of 10 days due to certain shortcomings in simulator training.
The DGCA stated that it observed deficiencies in the airline’s internal audit and spot checks, which were claimed to have been carried out perfunctorily and not in accordance with regulatory requirements.
After reviewing the airline’s action taken report, DGCA issued show-cause notices to the responsible individuals. Based on the responses received, the airline has been instructed not to assign any audits, surveillance, or spot checks related to DGCA compliance to the specific auditor involved in the perfunctory inspections, indicating a lack of diligence.
In February of this year, DGCA ordered the removal of the head of training at Air India subsidiary AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) for a period of three months due to violations of certain pilot training norms. Additionally, the airline was fined Rs 20 lakh, and eight designated examiners received fines of Rs 3 lakh each.
Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.
Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News.
