DGCA fines Air India for violating Flight Duty Time Limitations

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Friday imposed a financial penalty of Rs 80 lakh on Air India Limited for violation of regulations pertaining to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) and fatigue management system (FMS) of flight crew.
In a statement, DGCA said that as a proactive step towards ensuring a high level of safety in aviation, DGCA conducted a spot audit of Air India Limited in the month of January this year to verify the regulatory compliance by the operator in respect of FDTL and FMS regulations. During the audit, the evidence was collected and fleet-wise random reports were analyzed. It further reads that the analysis of reports and evidence revealed that M/s Air India Limited operated flight(s) with both flight crew aged above 60 years flying together in a few instances, which is a violation of Sub Rule (2) of Rule 28 A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
The operator was also found deficient in providing adequate weekly rest, adequate rest before and after ultra-long range (ULR) flights and adequate rest on layover to flight crew, which violates the extant provisions of the Civil Aviation Requirements pertaining to FDTL. Moreover, the instances of exceeding duty periods, wrongly marked training records, overlapping duties were also observed during the audit. A show cause notice (SCN) was issued to Air India Limited on March 1, 2024, for submitting a response to the observed violations. The operator submitted its response to the SCN which was not found satisfactory. Pursuant to the non-satisfactory response submitted by operator, a fine of Rs 80,00,000 (rupees eighty lakhs) have been imposed on the operator.