DGCA slaps Rs 1.10 crore penalty on Air India for safety violations

The safety violations took place on certain long-range terrain critical routes, the DGCA said

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 1.10 crore on Air India for safety violations amid a series of incidents of flight irregularities.

"Pursuant to the receipt of a voluntary safety report from an airline employee alleging safety violations of flights operated by Air India on certain long range terrain critical routes, DGCA conducted a comprehensive investigation into the alleged violations,” the regulator said in a statement.

“Since the investigation prima facie revealed non-compliance by the airline, a show cause notice was issued to the accountable manager of Air India Limited. The response to the show cause notice was duly examined with respect to the laid down stipulations under the relevant statutory provisions and the performance limits stipulated in critical documentations laid down by the Original Equipment Manufacturer [OEM],” the DGCA statement read.

Recently, IndiGo was fined Rs 1.20 crore as the passengers of one of its flights came out on the tarmac and started eating food. Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia strongly reacted to the incident and said it was unacceptable.

Earlier this month, DGCA had issued show cause notices to Air India and SpiceJet for not deploying pilots trained to operate in low visibility conditions, following diversions of various flights amid dense fog at the Delhi airport in late December.

During December 25-28 last year, flight operations were significantly impacted at the Delhi airport, and nearly 60 flights by various airlines were diverted due to dense fog.