India’s civil aviation authority, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has taken a tough stance against Air India following the horrific plane crash in Ahmedabad. The regulator has threatened to cancel the license of the country’s oldest airline on charges of multiple serious safety lapses and mismanagement, Hindustan Times reported.
According to a report in Hindustan Times, on June 12, an Air India flight bound for London crashed in a populated area of Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat. At least 300 people lost their lives in the accident, of whom 270 bodies have been recovered.
Before this incident, an Air India flight bound for Hong Kong faced another horrific situation on June 1. When a door of the plane opened in mid-air, the lives of the passengers were at risk. Fortunately, no major casualties were reported at that time.
In the wake of these recent accidents, the DGCA authorities have taken strict action. A notice has been sent to the company, ordering the dismissal of three senior officials of the operations department of Air India. The officials are – Vice President of Integrated Operations Control Center (IOCC) Churah Singh, Chief Manager of Flight Operations (DOps) Department Pinky Mittal and Head of Crew Scheduling Department Payal Arora.
The notice clearly states that if these three officials are not removed immediately, the DGCA will be forced to cancel the operating license of Air India. This notice was officially sent to the Air India headquarters in New Delhi on June 20.
In this regard, the public relations department of Air India said on Monday that the three officials have already been dismissed as per the instructions of the DGCA. Besides, these departments are being managed by other senior officials of flight operations for the time being.