DGCA crackdown: Why Air India was told to remove its 3 officials

THe board of directors superior general of civic air power, the air power safety regulator, has ordered Air India to remove its three officials, including a divisional vice president, from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling and rostering.The DGCA, in its order on June 20, also asked the Tata Group-owned Air India to initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against these officials without delay.Hindustan Times was the first to report that the three officials include a divisional vice president of the airline, as per the DGCA order.Air India, in a statement, said it has acknowledged the regulator's directive and implemented the order."In the interim, the company's Chief Operations Officer will provide direct oversight to the Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC). Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices," the airline said in its statement on Saturday.The latest direction from DGCA has come at a time when the airline has been under strict scrutiny in the aftermath of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash last week.Why DGCA asked Air India to fire 3 officialsIn its order, the DGCA said “repeated and serious violations” voluntarily disclosed by Air India 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 to the CAE Flight and Crew Management System," it said.What is ARMS?: ARMS or Air Route Management System is the software platform used by the airline for various operational and management tasks, including crew rostering and flight planning, among others.The voluntary disclosures, “while noted, point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability,” the DGCA order said. The order also flagged that “particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses”.The DGCA also noted that these officials have been involved in “serious and repeated lapses” including “unauthorised and non-compliant crew pairings, violation of mandatory licensing and recency norms and systemic failures in scheduling protocol and oversight”.Who are Air India officials?The aviation regulator said it has identified three officials as directly accountable: Choorah Singh, divisional vice president; Pinky Mittal, chief manager - in directorate of operations, crew scheduling; and Payal Arora, crew scheduling - planning.Air India  plane crash in AhmedabadA London-bound Air India flight, AI-171 carrying 242 passengers and crew members crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. All but one on board the plane died along with nearly 29 on the ground when the aircraft smashed into a medical complex shortly after take-off.(With inputs from Neha LM Tripathi in New Delhi)