Directorate General of Civil Aviation has imposed a financial penalty of eighty lakh rupees on Air India Limited for violation of regulations about Flight Duty Time Limitations, FDTL and Fatigue Management System, FMS of the flight crew. DGCA conducted a spot audit of Air India Limited in January this year to verify the regulatory compliance by the operator in respect for FDTL and FMS regulations. During the audit, the evidences were collected and fleet-wise random reports were analyzed.

DGCA said in a release that the analysis of reports and evidences revealed that Air India Limited operated flights with both flight crew aged above 60 years flying together in a few instances, which is a violation of Aircraft Rules. The operator was also found deficient in providing adequate weekly rest, adequate rest before and after ultra-long range, ULR flights and adequate rest on layover to flight crew, which violates the extant provisions of the Civil Aviation Requirements pertaining to FDTL. A show cause notice was issued to Air India Limited on 1st March for submitting a response to the observed violations. The operator submitted its response to the show cause notice which was not found satisfactory.