By SCALE UB news team : 21/06/2025

News summary:

The DGCA has directed Air India to immediately remove three senior crew-scheduling executives—including a divisional VP—from roles involving crew rostering, citing repeated lapses in licensing, rest norms, and recency. This comes after the airline voluntarily disclosed violations during a system transition review and in the aftermath of the June 12 AI‑171 crash. Disciplinary proceedings must begin within ten days. en.wikipedia.org+15hindustantimes.com+15telegraphindia.com+15

Detail news:

New Delhi, June 21, 2025 — The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered immediate removal of three Air India officials from all crew-scheduling and rostering roles due to “serious and repeated violations” of safety norms. The actions stem from self-reported issues in flight crew management identified during a review following the system upgrade to the CAE flight-crew platform.

 Who Are the Officials?

The DGCA identified:

• Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President

• Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager — Crew Scheduling

• Payal Arora, Crew Scheduling — Planning
  All have been reassigned to non-operational duties pending disciplinary review. hindustantimes.com+5hindustantimes.com+5m.economictimes.com+5

 What Went Wrong

Air India disclosed scheduling crew who didn’t meet mandatory licensing, rest, and recency requirements—even deploying pilots who exceeded legal flight duty time, particularly during the Bangalore-London route. These errors flagged systemic lapses in oversight, monitoring, and compliance. hindustantimes.com+8hindustantimes.com+8timesofindia.indiatimes.com+8

 DGCA’s Directive

The DGCA’s June 20 order mandates:

• Removal of the officials from crew-related tasks

• Internal disciplinary action within 10 days

• A requirement that any future violations—including crew duty breaches—will result in license suspensions or operational bans for Air India. deccanherald.com+8hindustantimes.com+8ndtv.com+8m.economictimes.com+1ndtvprofit.com+1ndtvprofit.com+3ndtv.com+3timesofindia.indiatimes.com+3

 Context: AI‑171 Crash

The move comes amid intense scrutiny following the June 12 crash of Air India’s Boeing 787‑8 Dreamliner (Flight AI‑171) in Ahmedabad, which resulted in 241 fatalities. DGCA also previously initiated fleet-wide safety inspections and show-cause notices for similar crew violations. hindustantimes.com+4hindustantimes.com+4timesofindia.indiatimes.com+4