DGCA orders removal of three Air India crew-rostering officials amid post-crash probe

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed Air India to immediately remove three senior crew-rostering officials following a post-transition audit from the airline’s legacy ARMS system to CAE Flight and Crew Management System.

Identified by the regulator as being directly responsible for serious and repeated violations in crew scheduling, the officials are implicated in unauthorized crew pairings and breaches of licensing, rest, and recency norms.

Named in the DGCA’s June 20 order are Choorah Singh (Divisional Vice President), Pinky Mittal (Chief Manager, Crew Scheduling), and Payal Arora (Crew Scheduling - Planning).

The regulator has also issued a show-cause notice following two Bengaluru–London flights in May that reportedly exceeded the allowable flight duty time of 10 hours.

The DGCA has mandated that these officials be reassigned to non-operational roles and subjected to internal disciplinary action, with outcomes to be reported back within ten days.

It also warned Air India that further crew-scheduling lapses could result in license suspension or even revocation of operating permissions.

Air India acknowledged and implemented the directive, appointing its Chief Operations Officer to oversee the Integrated Operations Control Centre temporarily.

The airline also affirmed its commitment to strict adherence to safety protocols and standard operating procedures.

This regulatory action follows the June 12 crash of Flight AI 171 in Ahmedabad, India’s deadliest aviation disaster in recent history.

While DGCA’s investigation into the crash continues, the crew-rostering violations were voluntarily disclosed by Air India and are distinct from the crash inquiry