Civil aviation regulator DGCA has ordered the immediate removal of three senior Air India officials, including a divisional vice president, from all responsibilities related to flight crew scheduling and rostering. 

The directive is among the sternest interventions in recent months involving a full-service scheduled airline. 

The DGCA has also asked the Tata Group-owned carrier to initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against the three unnamed officials without further delay. 

Failure to do so would result in severe action, including the possibility of the airline losing its operating permission. 

The DGCA's action stems from its audit of Air India's Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC), which oversees crew deployment across the airline's domestic and international network. 

According to the show cause notice issued by the regulator, two flights operated by Air India - AI133 from Bengaluru to London Heathrow on May 16 and May 17 - exceeded the maximum flight duty time limitation of 10 hours. 

The operation of these flights violated Para 6.1.3 of the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), Section 7, Series J, Part III, Issue III, dated 24 April 2019, according to the show cause notice. 

Source: Ndtv