DGCA slaps Rs 30 lakh fine on Air India; Airlines says strengthening crews' awareness on handling incidents

New Delhi, Jan 20: Aviation regulator DGCA on Friday said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 30 lakh on Air India as well as suspended the license of the pilot-in-command of the New York-Delhi flight in which a person allegedly urinated on a female co-passenger.

In the incident, which happened on November 26, 2022, the watchdog has also slapped a fine of Rs 3 lakh on Air India's Director of in-flight services for failing to discharge her duties.

The enforcement actions for violation of applicable norms come nearly two months after the incident happened while it came to the notice of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) only on January 4.

On Thursday, Air India imposed a four-month flying ban on Mishra, who is in jail now. Earlier, the airline had barred him from flying for 30 days.

In its statement on Friday, DGCA said enforcement actions have been taken in the incident which came to the notice of the regulator only on January 4.

The watchdog had issued show cause notices to Air India's Accountable Manager, Director in-flight services, all the pilots and cabin crew members of that flight as to why enforcement action should not be taken against them for dereliction of their regulatory obligations.

DGCA examined the written replies of Air India and the personnel involved, and decided on the enforcement actions.

A ''financial penalty of Rs 30,00,000 has been imposed on Air India for violation of applicable DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR),'' the regulator said.

Further, the watchdog said the license of the pilot-in-command of the said flight has been suspended for three months for failing to discharge his duties as per Rule 141 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 and applicable DGCA CAR.

A financial penalty of Rs 3 lakh has been imposed on Director-in-flight services of M/s Air India for failing to discharge her duties as per applicable DGCA CAR, it added.

The incident of passenger misbehavior occurred on AI-102 flight from New York to Delhi on November 26 last year, wherein a male passenger conducted himself in a disorderly manner and allegedly relieved himself on a female passenger, DGCA said.

Air India says taking steps to address gaps

Air India said it respectfully acknowledges the gaps in reporting with respect to the urination incident onboard a New York-Delhi flight last year and that relevant steps are being taken to address the issues.

''We are in receipt of today's order of the Director General of Civil Aviation and are studying the same. We respectfully acknowledge the gaps in our reporting and are taking relevant steps to ensure that the same are addressed,'' an Air India spokesperson said in a statement.

According to the spokesperson, the airline is also strengthening our crews' awareness about policies on the handling of incidents involving unruly passengers. ''Air India is committed to stand by the safety and well-being of our passengers''.