DGCA fines Air India ₹1 cr for flying plane without airworthiness permit | Top News

India’s civil aviation watchdog fined Air India $110,350 for flying an Airbus plane eight times without an airworthiness permit; The error further undermined public confidence in the country’s second-largest airline, a secret order said.

An Airbus A320 flew passengers between New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad between November 24 and 25 without the mandatory Airworthiness Inspection Certificate, or ARC, a key permit issued annually by the regulator once an aircraft passes safety and fitness checks.

As Reuters reported in December, Air India’s own internal investigation into the incident found “systemic failures” at the airline, which also acknowledged an urgent need to improve the compliance culture at the carrier.

The incident “further eroded public trust and adversely affected the organization’s security compliance,” said the secret criminal order issued by Indian authorities to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson on February 5.

“The responsible manager on behalf of Air India has been found liable for the above errors,” Joint Director General of Civil Aviation Maneesh Kumar said, referring to Wilson in the order. he said.

Air India did not respond to Reuters’ questions.

The airline was asked to deposit 10 million Indian rupees or $110,339 within 30 days.

Air India suffered its biggest disaster in June last year, when a Boeing Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 260 people.

The Airbus incident investigation, conducted by Air India, also blamed the pilots, saying those flying on eight flights failed to comply with standard operating procedures before takeoff, Reuters reported.

Air India, owned by India’s Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, also received warnings from the watchdog for operating aircraft without checking emergency equipment, among other inspection lapses.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Anil D’Silva)