DGCA Fines Air India Express and Suspends Alchemist Aviation
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a financial penalty of Rs 10 lakhs on Air India Express for not complying with DGCA regulations. This was discovered during a Surveillance inspection in June 2024, as part of the Annual Surveillance Program (ASP) 2024. The inspection revealed that Air India Express did not follow the rules for compensating passengers affected by flight cancellations.
In response to the non-compliance, DGCA issued a show cause notice to Air India Express. The airline’s reply confirmed the failure to comply with the relevant regulations. To ensure passenger protection, DGCA regularly inspects scheduled domestic airlines at major airports.
In another incident, DGCA suspended the approval of Alchemist Aviation Private Limited to operate as a flying training organization. This decision followed a crash involving a trainee aircraft, resulting in the deaths of both the trainee pilot and the instructor. A special safety audit conducted from August 23 to 24 found several serious deficiencies and non-compliance with regulatory provisions at Alchemist Aviation.
Doubts Revealed
DGCA -: DGCA stands for Directorate General of Civil Aviation. It is the government body in India that oversees all aviation activities, making sure they are safe and follow the rules.
Air India Express -: Air India Express is a low-cost airline in India. It operates flights to various destinations, mainly in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Rs 10 lakhs -: Rs 10 lakhs means 1 million rupees. In India, ‘lakhs’ is a term used to represent 100,000 units of currency.
Passenger compensation -: Passenger compensation refers to the money or benefits given to passengers if their flight is delayed, canceled, or if they face other issues while traveling.
Alchemist Aviation -: Alchemist Aviation is a company that provides training for people who want to become pilots. They teach students how to fly airplanes.
Flying training organization -: A flying training organization is a school or company that teaches people how to fly airplanes and become pilots.
Fatal crash -: A fatal crash is an accident where an airplane crashes and people lose their lives.
Safety audit -: A safety audit is a detailed check to make sure that all safety rules and procedures are being followed correctly.
Deficiencies -: Deficiencies mean things that are missing or not good enough. In this context, it means that Alchemist Aviation was not meeting the required safety standards.