Aviation Authority Orders Removal of 3 Air India Officials Following Crash-Related Safety Lapses

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken strict action against Air India by ordering the removal of three senior officials from crew scheduling duties following repeated and serious breaches of aviation safety rules.

The officials named in the DGCA’s June 20 order are Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President; Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager of Crew Scheduling; and Payal Arora, who handles Crew Scheduling Planning.

The DGCA’s investigation found these officials responsible for several violations, including unauthorized crew pairings, ignoring licensing and mandatory rest requirements for crew members, and systemic oversight failures.

This order comes just days after a tragic Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London’s Gatwick airport crashed shortly after takeoff, killing over 270 people both onboard and on the ground.

The aviation regulator has instructed Air India to immediately remove these three from their operational roles. They must also face internal disciplinary action, with the airline required to report back to the DGCA within 10 days.

The officials will be moved to non-operational positions and barred from any roles that impact flight safety or crew compliance until further notice.

These safety lapses were uncovered during an audit following Air India’s switch from the ARMS system to the CAE Flight and Crew Management System.

In a related development, the DGCA has issued a show-cause notice to Air India’s Accountable Manager after discovering that two Bengaluru-London flights on May 16 and 17, 2025, exceeded the legal flight time limit of 10 hours.

The DGCA has given the manager seven days to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken for this violation.