Aviation regulator DGCA slaps Rs 80 lakh fine on Air India

Aviation watchdog DGCA on Friday imposed a fine of Rs 80 lakh on Air India for violations of norms related to flight duty time limitations and fatigue management system of flight crew.

The decision came after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted a spot audit of Air India in January, during which evidence was collected and fleet-wise random reports were analysed.

"The analysis of reports and evidence revealed that Air India Limited operated flight(s) with both flight crew aged above 60 years flying together in a few instances.

"... the operator was also found deficient in providing adequate weekly rest, adequate rest before & after ultra-long range flights and adequate rest on layover to the flight crew, which violates the extant provisions of the Civil Aviation Requirements pertaining to FDTL," the regulator said in a release.

Further, the DGCA said there were instances of exceeding duty periods, wrongly marked training records and overlapping duties.

On March 1, the regulator issued a show cause notice to Air India with respect to the violations.

"The operator submitted its response to the show cause notice, which was not found satisfactory. Pursuant to the non-satisfactory response submitted by the operator, a fine of Rs 80,00,000 has been imposed on the operator," the release said.