After the tragic crash of Air India Flight 171 in Ahmedabad, claiming the lives of all but one passenger on board, three Air India employees responsible for crew scheduling have been asked to resign from their positions by India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
DGCA Reveals Air India Violations
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is India’s regulatory body tasked with ensuring safety within the civil aviation sector. On Saturday, June 21, the DGCA issued a report instructing Air India to follow “internal disciplinary proceedings” against three of its officials, ordering them to “remove the officials from all crew scheduling and rostering roles”.
The report by the DGCA also warned Air India that consequences for repeat violations could include “penalties, licence suspension and withdrawal of operator permissions”. According to The Hindu, the directive by the DGCA stipulated that these proceedings be conducted without delay to avoid these punitive measures.
The DGCA has cited “systemic failiures” and “multiple violations” regarding pilot’s licences, amount of rest between flights and the amount of experience or regency of the flight crew. The order stated that violations were found during Air India’s transition to a new software for crew scheduling in May of last year. There was also an internal audit at Air India in February 2025. The DGCA had granted the airline a period of three months to fix the internal issues.
Air India Responds
In a statement, a spokesperson for Air India said the following regarding the DGCA order:
“We acknowledge the regulator’s directive and have implemented the order. In the interim, the company’s Chief Operations Officer will provide direct oversight to the Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC). Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and procedures.”
In a letter to employees, CEO Campbell Wilson addressed the scrutiny faced by Air India in the wake of the incident:
“…our aim in every respect, be it safety, quality, service, scale, reach, professionalism or any other dimension, remains the same if not higher than before.”
Air India and CEO Wilson have expressed deep regret over the recent incident involving the airline, reaffirming their commitment to passenger safety and quality service. In a statement, the airline pledged full compliance with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s guidelines and recommendations, following a series of inspections conducted across its fleet.
Air India is the national airline of India and is based at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India.
Do you think Air India is doing enough to ensure crew and passenger safety? Let us know in the comments.
