The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday issued a stern directive to Air India, ordering the immediate removal of three senior officials from their crew scheduling duties following repeated violations of aviation safety protocols. The action comes in the wake of the tragic Ahmedabad to Gatwick crash, which claimed over 270 lives.
The officials named in the DGCA order dated June 20 are:
- Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President
- Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager – DOPS, Crew Scheduling
- Payal Arora, Crew Scheduling – Planning
According to the order, the trio was involved in unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings, violations of licensing and crew rest norms, and broader systemic failures in oversight and scheduling accountability.
Officials Removed, Internal Disciplinary Proceedings Ordered
The DGCA directive mandates that these officials be reassigned to non-operational roles immediately and barred from holding any position related to flight safety or crew compliance until further reforms are implemented.
“The aforementioned officials shall be reassigned to non-operational roles pending conclusion of corrective reforms in scheduling practices, and shall not hold any position involving direct influence over flight safety and crew compliance until further notice,” the order stated.
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Air India has been instructed to initiate internal disciplinary proceedings without delay and submit a detailed report on the outcome within 10 days.
This action follows findings during the post-transition audit from the ARMS to the CAE Flight and Crew Management System, which exposed multiple irregularities in flight crew scheduling.
Air India’s Accountable Manager Also Under Scrutiny
In a related development, the DGCA has also issued a show-cause notice to Air India’s Accountable Manager after it was discovered that two flights from Bengaluru to London (AI-133) operated on May 16 and 17 exceeded the permissible 10-hour flight time limit.
“It has been observed that the Accountable Manager of Air India operated two flights from Bangalore to London (AI-133) on 16 May 2025 and 17 May 2025, both of which exceeded the stipulated flight time limit of 10 hours,” the regulator said in a separate order.
The manager has been given seven days to respond and justify why enforcement action should not be initiated.
