Air India Ordered to Remove Three Officials For Crew Management Failures
Days after Air India flight AI-171 crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed the airline to remove three officials from all roles and responsibilities involving crew scheduling and rostering.
The DGCA noted that Air India disclosed repeated and serious violations concerning flight crew being scheduled and operated despite lapses in licensing, rest, and recency requirements. These violations were discovered during the post-transition review from ARMS (Aviation Resource Management System—an integrated system airlines use for crew management) to the CAE Flight and Crew Management System.
In a statement issued on Saturday (June 21), the DGCA flagged systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability. It also raised concerns over the lack of strict disciplinary measures against the key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses.
The employees against whom action has been ordered are:
- Chooran Singh, Divisional Vice President
- Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager, Directorate of Operations (Crew Scheduling)
- Payal Arora, Crew Scheduling – Planning
The aviation regulator stated that the three officials have been involved in serious and repeated lapses, including but not limited to:
• Unauthorized and non-compliant crew pairings
• Violation of mandatory licensing and recency norms
• Systemic failures in scheduling protocols and oversight
In the statement, the DGCA directed Air India to immediately remove the three officials from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling and rostering. The airline has also been instructed to initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against the officials without delay. The outcome of such proceedings must be reported to the DGCA within 10 days from the date of issue of the letter.
Air India has been further instructed to reassign the officials to non-operational roles, pending the conclusion of corrective reforms in scheduling practices. They must not hold any position involving direct influence over flight safety and crew compliance until further notice.
The DGCA warned of strict action— including, but not limited to, penalties, license suspension, or withdrawal of operator permissions—if any future violations of crew scheduling norms, licensing requirements, or flight time limitations are detected during any post-audit or inspection.
