Sources in the DGCA indicated that the action followed a complaint by a former Air India pilot who had served as a Boeing 777 commander.
Aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has slapped a penalty of Rs 1.1 crore on Air India over safety violations on the carrier’s flights on a few long-range routes.
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According to a DGCA statement, the action follows a “comprehensive investigation” that was initiated after an airline employee filed a voluntary safety report with the regulator, alleging safety violations on Air India flights “on certain long range terrain critical routes”. The investigation prima facie revealed non-compliance by the airline, after which a show cause notice was issued to Air India.
Sources in the DGCA indicated that the action followed a complaint by a former Air India pilot who had served as a Boeing 777 commander. In the complaint, which was filed late October, the pilot had alleged that Air India had operated its newly-leased 777 aircraft (earlier with Delta Air Lines) without adequate emergency oxygen supply for certain flight paths to the US from India.
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In its statement, the DGCA did not give details of the safety violations and the routes on which those violations took place. The regulator also did not name the aircraft manufacturer. It is, however, worth noting that Air India’s long-range flights are currently operated by the carrier’s Boeing 777 and 787 wide-body aircraft.
“The response to the Show Cause Notice was duly examined with respect to the laid down stipulations under the relevant statutory provisions and the performance limits stipulated in critical documentations laid down by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Since the said operations of the leased aircraft were not in line with regulatory/OEM performance limits, DGCA has initiated enforcement action and imposed a penalty of Rs. 1.10 crore on M/s Air India,” the safety regulator said in a statement Wednesday.
Air India has so far not commented on the penalty imposed by the DGCA.
Although Air India’s ex-Delta 777 aircraft do have emergency oxygen supply, it may not be adequate for certain flight paths from India to North America. This is because such flights, particularly from North India, would fly over high mountain ranges. In case of cabin depressurisation, the pilots are required to descend to an altitude of 10,000 feet for passengers to breathe normally without oxygen support. While the emergency oxygen supply available on the ex-Delta 777 planes migh be enough for regular terrain operations, it may not be enough in the event of depressurisation while flying over mountain ranges as the pilots would need a lot more time to descend to 10,000 feet. Air India’s older 777 aircraft have extra oxygen support for such eventualities.
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In the complaint, the pilot had reportedly said that he had refused to operate a flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru in January 2023 citing lack for enough emergency oxygen for the planned flight path. The pilot operated the flight after the airline gave an alternative flight path, as per reports. The pilot alleged that the airline terminated his services a few months later.
