Indian aviation regulator fines Air India over safety concerns

NEW DELHI, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- India's civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has imposed a hefty penalty of 11 million Indian rupees (around 132,340 U.S. dollars) on private airline Air India over safety-related issues.

The monetary fine was imposed for alleged safety violations on certain "long-range terrain critical routes" on which the airline flew its planes.

The airline company has denied the DGCA's accusations, saying that a thorough examination by external experts had found "no safety concerns" about its flights.

The DGCA said that based on a safety complaint by an Air India employee, it had initiated an inquiry and found enough evidence about the airline not following the safety guidelines on specific long routes.

After the investigation, the DGCA reportedly sent a notice to the airline company alleging that it had not complied with the safety rules. The safety concerns were related to planes that Air India had leased which did not operate within the limits set by regulations and the original equipment manufacturer, said an online report by The Hindu.

The complaint was raised by a former pilot of Air India, who highlighted concerns about the Boeing 777 aircraft's chemically generated oxygen system lasting only 12 minutes.

In his complaint, the pilot had contended that these aircraft should not be utilized for direct flights to and from San Francisco. Three months after he had raised the complaint, the pilot was terminated.

Expressing disagreement with the DGCA's order, Air India issued a statement saying, "We are studying the order in detail and will review the options available to us, including our right to appeal as well as taking it up with the regulator."