Onboard Peeing Incident: Air India Fined Rs 30 Lakh, Pilot's License Suspended For 3 Months
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakhs on Tata-Group-owned Air India for its crew's failure to take action against an unruly passenger and the delay in reporting it.
The aviation watchdog also 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 on November 26.
This is the first time DGCA has penalised an airline for unruly passenger behaviour onboard a flight.
What DGCA said
On Friday, the DGCA said enforcement actions have been taken in the incident, which came to the regulator's notice on January 4.
The watchdog had issued show cause notices to Air India's Accountable Manager, Director of in-flight services, and 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.
It added that a financial penalty of Rs 3 lakh has been imposed on the Director-in-flight services of M/s Air India for failing to discharge her duties as per applicable DGCA CAR.
Air India acknowledges gaps
Air India, on its part, said that it acknowledges the gaps in its "reporting" of the incident.
"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," a spokesperson of Air India said on Friday.
The airline further said that it is strengthening its crew's awareness and compliance with policies on handling incidents involving unruly passengers.
Shankar Mishra banned for four months
On Thursday, Air India said that the accused passenger, Shankar Mishra, has been banned from flying on its aircrafts for four months. Earlier, the airline had barred him from flying for 30 days.
Mishra, the Mumbai-based former top executive of Wells Fargo, is currently in the custody of the Delhi Police in connection with the incident.
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