Air India ordered to remove three senior officials for 'serious violations' of aviation safety protocols

Days after the Air India plane to Gatwick crashed in Gujarat's Ahmedabad with 241 people on board, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has ordered immediate action against three senior officials of Air India. The company has been asked to remove the officials on grounds of “serious and repeated violations” of aviation safety protocols.

“The voluntary disclosures, while noted, point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability. Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses,” the order dated June 20 states.

Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President; Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager - DOPS, Crew Scheduling; and Payal Arora were directly held responsible for several lapses, including unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings, violations of licensing and crew rest norms and systemic failures in oversight, according to the to the DGCA order.

“Internal disciplinary proceedings must be initiated against these officials without delay, and the outcome of such proceedings shall be reported to this office within 10 days from the date of issue of this letter,” the order stated.

These officials according to the order will be reassigned to non-operational roles and will not hold any position involving direct influence over flight safety and crew compliance.

"The aforementioned officials shall be reassigned to non-operational roles pending conclusion of corrective reforms in scheduling practices, and shall not hold any position involving direct influence over flight safety and crew compliance until further notice," it added.

Air India flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick, London, crashed moments after takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 241 people on board.