Air India pilots’ body IPG is considering legal recourse and other options with regard to suspension of license of the pilot-in-command of the flight by aviation regulator DGCA where a passenger assaulted a female co-passenger last November. Allegedly urinated on. A senior member of the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), which represents airline pilots who fly wide-body aircraft, said it would strongly take up the issue of suspension of the pilot concerned. The urination incident took place on a New York-Delhi flight on November 26, 2022 and came to the notice of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) only on January 4.
For various violations, the DGCA on Friday imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Air India, Rs 3 lakh on the airline’s director of in-flight services and suspended the pilot-in-command’s license for three months. The IPG member told PTI on the condition of anonymity, “We are considering all options, including legal action for suspension of the pilot’s license. We are talking to our lawyers on this issue and will take a decision soon.
The member claimed that the pilot concerned had acted very maturely. “All this was communicated to the company at that time. If after all this you still feel that the pilot did not act, then we need to understand what you are talking about and you can Why find guilty?”
The member also alleged that there is “a lot of pressure to find a scapegoat” in the whole issue. There was no immediate comment from Air India. 26 November.
According to the DGCA, there was an incident of passenger misbehavior in flight AI-102 from New York to Delhi on November 26 last year, in which a male passenger behaved in a disorderly manner and allegedly fumbled with a female passenger.
The watchdog had issued show cause notices to Air India’s Accountable Manager, Director of In-Flight Services, all pilots and cabin crew members of that flight as to why enforcement action should not be taken against them for breach of their regulatory obligations.
DGCA examined the written replies of Air India and the personnel involved and decided on enforcement action.