DGCA suspends two AirAsia executives over safety violations

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended two senior executives of AirAsia India after a pilot exposed safety lapses at the airline and was suspended.

According to details, India’s aviation regulator suspended AirAsia India’s head of operations, Manish Uppal, and head of safety, Mukesh Nema, for three months over safety violations.

After a video posted on June 15, 2020 by an AirAsia India’s pilot, India’s aviation regulator initiated an inquiry into AirAsia India regarding safety violations by the airline. Captain Gaurav Taneja, in a video posted on YouTube, questioned AirAsia India’s policies on sick leave, landing procedures and handling of the coronavirus which was viewed more than 6 million times.

In his video, Captain Taneja said that AirAsia India counted sick days as mandatory break days for pilots, depriving them of the required rest before flying an aircraft, Taneja said.

AirAsia flight suffers bird hit, what happened next?

He also alleged that the airline sets targets for pilots to land using a specific fuel-saving approach. An approach which can be more dangerous at certain airports. AirAsia India also didn’t follow standard operating procedures related to flying during the pandemic, Taneja alleged.

It is to be remembered that on August 8, 2020 (a day after the Air India Express plane crash), an AirAsia India aircraft aborted its take-off at Ranchi airport after encountering a bird hit.

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