DGCA: Safety compromised by training personnel through faulty simulators; Action was taken against Akasa Air
DGCA action on Akasa Air: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in its two separate orders issued on December 27 that two senior officials of the airline in which the Rakesh Jhunjhunwala family has a stake have "failed" to ensure compliance with the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR). Therefore, action has been taken to suspend them. Let's know more about this.
On Friday, Aviation safety regulator DGCA ordered the suspension of Akasa Air's Director of Operations and Director of Training for six months for alleged lapses in the training of pilots.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in its two separate orders issued on December 27 that two senior officials of the airline in which the Rakesh Jhunjhunwala family has a stake have "failed" to ensure compliance with the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR).
The decision to suspend Akash Air's operations director and training director was taken after the DGCA found their replies to show-cause notices issued to them on October 15 and October 30 respectively "unsatisfactory".
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation in its order also advised the airline to nominate "suitable" candidates for both the positions. Akasa Air said in a statement, "Akasa Air has received the order dated 27 December 2024 from DGCA. We will continue to work with DGCA and comply accordingly." The airline added, "Safety is of utmost importance and we constantly strive to maintain the highest standards of safety."
Issuing the suspension order, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said, "The regulatory audit conducted by DGCA on October 7, 2024 at M/s SNV Aviation Private Limited (Akasa Air), Mumbai, found that RNP training (approach) was being conducted on simulators that were not qualified for it... This is a violation of Para 7 of CAR Section 7, Series D, Part VI."
The DGCA said that Akash Air's Director of Operations and Director of Training "failed to ensure compliance with civil aviation requirements (CARs)" and both the officials "failed to train employees adequately... Also, repeated lapses/violations related to training were found".
The DGCA also said in its order that both the senior officials have "failed to discharge their duties to meet the applicable legal requirements and maintain safe operations" as per certain provisions of a particular CAR.
