DGCA Orders Immediate Action Against 3 Senior Air India Officials For Operational Lapses

Representative image. (Photo : IANS)

Days after a London-bound Air India flight crashed moments after takeoff in Ahmedabad, killing 241 people on board, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered immediate action against three senior Air India officials for violations related to flight crew scheduling.

Breaking : @DGCAIndia issues note against Air India rostering team and orders their removal for repeated violations @BDUTT @ShivAroor @VishnuNDTV @Iyervval @kushal_mehra #aviation #avgeeks @ari_maj @jagritichandra @27saurabhsinha @aneeshp

Very strong comments by DGCA

M/s… pic.twitter.com/DYMlXO5S4t

— Sanjay Lazar (@sjlazars) June 21, 2025

The DGCA has identified Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President, Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager - DOPS, Crew Scheduling, Payal Arora, Crew Scheduling - Planning, of being involved in serious and repeated lapses including but not limited to Unauthorized and non-compliant crew pairings, Violation of mandatory licensing and recency norms and Systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversight.

In view of the above, the DGCA has directed the removal of the three officials from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling and rostering.

The aviation regulatory body has also ordered Air India to initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against the three officials without delay and report the outcome of such proceedings within 10 days, i.e., by June 29.

DGCA has also ordered Air India to reassign the three officials to non-operational roles pending the conclusion of corrective reforms in scheduling practices. 

The DGCA has also ordered Air India to ensure that these three officials do not hold any positions having a direct impact on flight safety and crew compliance until further notice.

The aviation regulatory body has warned Air India that any future violation of crew scheduling norms, licensing, or flight time limitations detected in any post-audit or inspection will attract strict enforcement action, including but not limited to penalties, license suspension, or withdrawal of operator permissions as applicable.

Earlier, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said that the investigation into the Air India plane crash is progressing steadily with all necessary support from local authorities and agencies. 

Forensic experts have matched the DNA of 220 victims and handed over 202 bodies to the families.

The London-bound Air India plane crashed on June 12, shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport, killing 241 on board; only one person miraculously survived the crash.  151 Indian nationals, 34 British citizens, seven Portuguese nationals, one Canadian, and nine non-passengers believed to be ground staff or airport personnel died in the crash.