India’s civil aviation regulator has suspended Air India’s head of flight security for a month after a recent audit of the Tata Group-run airline found several deficiencies. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted surveillance of the full-service carrier on July 25-26 in terms of internal audit, accident prevention work and availability of required technical manpower.
As part of the audit, the regulator found that the accident prevention work carried out by the airline was deficient and that there was not the required number of technical staff under the flight safety manual and relevant civil aviation requirements.
It was also found that some of the internal audits or spot checks claimed to have been carried out by the airline were done in a misleading manner and not in accordance with regulatory requirements, the regulator said in a statement.
After reviewing a report submitted by Air India on the action taken, the regulator issued a show-cause notice to the officials concerned.
“Based on the review of the replies received, the airline is directed not to delegate any audit/surveillance/spot check related to compliance with DGCA requirements involving unwarranted inspections to the specified auditor indicating lack of diligence. Further, the approval of the Head of Flight Safety of M/s Air India has been suspended for one month for established deficiencies,” the regulator added.
In July, the regulator imposed a fine of ₹30 lakh on IndiGo as it found some systemic deficiencies in the airline’s documentation related to operations, training procedures and engineering procedures.
The regulator had also imposed a financial penalty of Rs 20 lakh on Air Asia India in February this year for violating applicable DGCA civil aviation requirements related to pilot training.
