Air India replaces commander on Colombo flight pending police case

Air India today replaced the commander of its Delhi-Colombo flight as he failed to get clearance from the police after being caught in an alleged sex trade case, according to an airline official.

The official said the senior pilot was among those who were arrested on Wednesday from a spa centre in Gurgaon, Haryana for suspected flesh trade.

An Air India spokesperson said the pilot was replaced and not allowed to operate the flight to Colombo, adding that the action was taken as "police had not cleared his name".

"Any other action such as suspension will depend on the final outcome of the investigation report," the spokesperson added.

It could not be immediately ascertained whether the pilot was still under detention.

On Wednesday, the Gurgaon police arrested 15 people, including five foreigners, after a raid at the spa centre for their alleged involvement in sex trade. Women from Thailand and Manipur were among those who were arrested.

"The off-duty pilot was one of the customers at the spa centre when it was raided by the police. He was to operate Air India flight AI-281 to Colombo from New Delhi today. So the airline had to replace him with another pilot to fly the aircraft," the official said.