The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered Air India to remove three officers responsible for operational lapses from all the obligations related to crew scheduling and rostering. It has also been clarified in the order of the DGCA that internal disciplinary proceedings should be started immediately, and its reports should be submitted within 10 days.
Restricted till further order
The letter of DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) further directed that these officers should be re-appointed in non-operational roles until the airline’s scheduling processes are improved. These officers have been banned till further orders to any post related to flight security and crew compliance.
DGCA said in its order that these violations came out during the review of transfer from ARMS to Cae Flight and Crew Management System.
Officers who have been removed:
Churah Singh – Divisional Vice President
Pinky Mittal – Chief Manager, DOPS, Crew Scheduling
Payal Arora – Crew Scheduling, Planning
Ahmedabad plane crash
Significantly, this order has come at a time when 241 passengers have died in the accident of flight AI171 going from Ahmedabad to London Gatewick on 12 June 2025. Shortly after the flight flew, a medical hostel collided with a medical hostel near Ahmedabad Airport.
A total of 242 people were on the aircraft – only 1 survived
Many people died on land too
The technical or operating error in the aircraft is under investigation.