DGCA started audit at Air India's Gurugram base, also sent show cause notice for FDTL violation

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday started a more in-depth audit of Air India's hub in Gurugram. In the audit, the airlines' operations, flight schedule, rostering, and some other important factors would be examined. We inform you that the DGCA's move came after the horrific airplane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12. This incident took place with Air India's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight to London, which collided after being airborne from Ahmedabad, killing a total of 270 people on board.

In this case, an eight-member team of DGCA has started this annual audit, whereas usually three members do this work. In the audit, all the important parts like operations, flight planning, scheduling, rostering and Integrated Operations Control Center (IOCC) will be investigated.

Along with this, DGCA has also sent a show cause notice to Air India for Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) violation. Along with this, three senior officials have been ordered to be removed from their responsibilities. Not only this, DGCA has also created a new framework for investigation, under which special audits will be done so that complete information can be obtained about both the good and weak points of the entire aviation sector. These special audits will be in addition to the annual monitoring program.

Notably, this audit is being done by DGCA at a time when DGCA has also taken action against some officials of Air India in many cases of security lapses. On June 21, the DGCA has sought inspection reports and audit details from Air India flight operations inspectors from 2024 to date.