DGCA Suspends 2 Senior Akasa Air Officials Over Alleged Lapses in Pilots Training

New Delhi: India’s aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)  on Friday ordered the suspension of the director of operations and director of training at Akasa Air for six months for alleged lapses in pilots' training. This comes after the DGCA found the replies to the show-cause notices issued to them on October 15 and October 30, respectively, as "unsatisfactory".

The two senior executives of the airline, in which the Rakesh Jhunjhunwala family holds stakes, have "failed" to ensure "compliance" with the civil aviation requirements, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in its two separate orders of December 27. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, in its orders, also advised the airline to nominate "suitable" candidates for the two positions.  

Akasa Air in a statement said, "Akasa Air is in receipt of an order from the DGCA dated 27th December 2024. We will continue to work with the DGCA and comply accordingly.

"Safety is of utmost importance, and we continuously trive to pursue the highest standards of safety." The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) while issuing suspension orders, said: "It has been found in regulatory audit conducted by DGCA on Oct 7, 2024, at M/s SNV Aviation Private Limited (Akasa Air), Mumbai, that RNP training (Approaches) is being conducted on simulators which have not been qualified for the same... which is in violation of Para 7 of CAR Section 7, Series D, Part VI." 

The DGCA stated that the Director of Operations and the Director of Training at Akasa Air "failed to ensure compliance with Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR)." The regulatory body highlighted that the two officials "failed to adequately train personnel" and identified repeated lapses and violations related to training.

In its order, the DGCA further noted that the senior executives had "failed to discharge their duties in accordance with legal requirements, compromising safe operations" as outlined in specific provisions of CAR.

(With PTI Inputs)