Ahmedabad plane crash puts focus on repeated DGCA warnings to Air India

Air India has faced multiple fines and warnings from the DGCA since its privatisation in 2022, with concerns raised over pilot rostering, safety lapses and cabin discipline

Air India, plane crash — Remains of the London-bound Air India Dreamliner that crashed into BJ Medical College hostel in Ahmedabad on Thursday (Photo: PTI)

5 min read Last Updated : Jun 12 2025 | 11:49 PM IST

Air India has been in regulatory crosshairs since its privatisation in January 2022. While the Tata group’s takeover was expected to mark a fresh start for the airline, it has repeatedly faced action from the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), over safety lapses, operational violations, and poor compliance practices.

The DGCA has issued multiple fines and warnings to Air India over the past three years, flagging serious concerns in flight operations, cockpit discipline, and internal accountability.

In January 2025, the DGCA imposed a fine of ₹30 lakh on Air India for allowing a pilot to operate a flight without meeting the mandatory "recency" requirement. The "recency" rules ensure that pilots remain proficient by requiring at least three takeoffs and landings in the preceding 90 days. Air India’s rostering team reportedly ignored repeated alerts, which the regulator called a serious safety oversight.

In May 2024, the DGCA issued a scathing show-cause notice after two long-haul flights left travellers in a stifling aircraft without adequate air-conditioning. The notice said the airline was “time and again failing to take due care of its passengers”.

On May 24 and 30 last year, Air India’s San Francisco-bound flights from Mumbai (AI-179) and Delhi (AI-183) were delayed by over 18 hours and 20 hours, respectively. While AI-179 faced a series of operational setbacks, passengers on AI-183 endured stifling cabin conditions for hours (some reportedly fainted) before the flight was cancelled and everyone was asked to disembark.

In March 2024, the DGCA fined Air India ₹80 lakh for violating flight duty time limitation (FDTL) rules, designed to ensure pilots are well-rested and not fatigued while flying. A month earlier, in February, the airline was fined ₹30 lakh after an elderly passenger suffered a fatal heart attack. The man had opted to walk to the terminal on his own after the airline failed to provide a requested wheelchair.

In January 2024, Air India was penalised ₹30 lakh for not rostering enough CAT-III-trained pilots during a dense fog period. CAT-III systems enable landings in extremely low-visibility conditions, but only specially certified pilots can operate them. The lapse contributed to widespread delays and cancellations at major airports.

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Cockpit violations have also drawn attention. In June 2023, two pilots were suspended — one for a year and the other for a month — after they allowed an unauthorised person into the cockpit during a Chandigarh-Leh flight. A few months earlier, in February, a Delhi-Dubai flight captain allowed a woman friend into the cockpit. He was suspended for three months while the co-pilot was let off with a warning for not acting against the violation.

In January 2023, Air India was fined ₹30 lakh for mishandling a case where a passenger urinated on a fellow traveller on a New York-Delhi flight. The airline was pulled up for delaying its report to authorities and not following standard protocol.

In June 2022, shortly after the Tata takeover, the DGCA fined the airline ₹10 lakh for denying boarding to valid ticket-holders without offering compensation, in violation of aviation rules.

In addition to specific incidents, the DGCA raised alarms in 2023 about Air India’s safety oversight structure. It flagged “confusion” over roles between Rajeev Gupta, appointed as chief of Flight Safety, and Henry Donohoe, designated head of Safety, Security, and Quality. The regulator asked CEO & MD Campbell Wilson — Air India’s “Accountable Manager” under aviation regulations — to streamline reporting lines to avoid ambiguity and enable faster resolution of safety matters.

In response to Business Standard’s queries on this matter, an Air India spokesperson had in 2023 replied that the chief of Flight Safety at the airline was approved by the DGCA and had direct access to the Accountable Manager.

“In accordance with the extant DGCA approval that was granted a year ago, Capt. Gupta has full responsibility for flight safety for Air India. Mr Henry Donohoe is employed at a corporate level to strengthen and align safety practices across the Group airlines. His role is complementary to and has no impediment on the role and functions of the head of Flight Safety,” the spokesperson had said.