Air India fined Rs 10 lakh for not reporting passenger smoking on flight

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Jan 24, 2023: In less than a week’s time, the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has fined Air India second time.

On Tuesday, the DGCA imposed a Rs 10 lakh fine on the airline for not reporting another incident of unruly passenger behaviour on board AI-142 (Paris - New Delhi) on December 6, 2022.

 

As per the DGCA, in the said incident, one passenger was caught smoking in the lavatory, was drunk and not adhering to the crew instructions. Another passenger allegedly relieved himself on a vacant seat and the blanket of a female co-passenger when she was not at her seat.

After learning about the incident for the first time on January 5 this year, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to the Accountable Manager of Air India as to why enforcement action should not be taken against them for dereliction of their regulatory obligations. The airline submitted its reply to the notice on January 23.

After perusing the reply, the DGCA has now imposed a fine on Air India for not reporting the incident to the regulator and delaying in referring the matter to its internal committee, which is a violation of applicable DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements.

Recently, on January 20, DGCA had imposed a Rs 30 lakh fine on Air India and Rs 3 lakh fine on its Director, In-Flight Services for violation of applicable rules and failure to discharge their duties in the handling of a similar incident. In the said incident, a male passenger on board an Air India New York - New Delhi flight on November 26, 2022 allegedly urinated on a woman co-passenger. The DGCA has also suspended the licence of the pilot-in-command of the said flight for four months.

Courtesy: India Today