Two Air India Pilots Suspended Over License Violations
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched a probe and suspended two Air India pilots for operating flights without valid certifications. The airline has been directed to submit a detailed report on the licensing lapses.
Key Takeaways
- Two Air India pilots suspended for flying with invalid licenses
- DGCA investigating and seeking detailed report from airline
- Incidents involve lapsed English proficiency and failed proficiency checks
- Part of ongoing rostering issues at Air India
License Violations Uncovered
A senior Air India captain operated an A320 flight with an expired English Language Proficiency certificate, while a co-pilot flew despite failing his bi-annual proficiency check and instrument rating test. Both were immediately off-rostered when the violations were detected.
“An instance of a first officer operating a flight after an unsatisfactory recurrent training check was detected by the training team. As soon as the error came to our notice, a crew scheduler and the pilot involved were off-rostered. Strong disciplinary proceedings have been initiated and the same has been duly reported to the regulator, DGCA,” Times of India quoted an Air India spokesperson as saying about the latter.
Ongoing Rostering Challenges
This marks the latest in a series of crew scheduling issues at Air India. Earlier this year, the DGCA identified serious licensing and rest requirement lapses following the Ahmedabad plane crash, resulting in three senior officials being removed from rostering duties.
The regulator had previously warned that future violations would attract strict enforcement, including penalties, license suspensions, or withdrawal of operator permissions.
