Air India urination case: DGCA rejects pilot’s appeal against license cancellation

New Delhi: “The pilot said he did not report the matter as he did not consider it an unruly act. However, the DGCA feels that the incident should have been reported in any case,” said a civil aviation ministry official.

On January 20, Air India was fined ₹30 lakh and suspended the pilot’s license for three months in connection with the incident that took place on the New York-Delhi flight on November 26 last year. The Air Transport Regulatory Authority imposed a fine of ₹3 lakh on the airline’s flight attendant.

Five airlines; Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), Air India Employees Unions (AIEU), All India Cabin Crew Association (AICCA) and Air Corporations Employees Union (ACEU) along with Indian Airline Pilots Association (ALPA), across the country The pilot was also supported by the union representing pilots in

On January 24, the unions sent a joint petition to the DGCA seeking withdrawal of the pilot’s suspension.

“We believe that the regulator acted without getting all the facts on record. Due process of investigation was not followed and key steps in investigation and enforcement were omitted. Additionally, there are gaps in the data collected which should be brought to light,” the pilot and staff unions said in their petition.
Captain Sam Thomas, President, ALPA, said, “In case of any incident, the first step taken by the DGCA is to ground the pilot. At least in this case, there is nothing the pilot can do. However, after firing all the employees, his license was suspended for three months. The pilot was suspended based on the airline’s reply to the DGCA. The airline should have done so soon after the facts came to light in the media a few days after the incident.