DGCA sends show cause notice to Air India for flouting civil aviation norms

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday has sent a show cause notice to Air India over violation of civil aviation requirements (CAR).

The aviation regulator, in a statement, said it had issued CAR Section 3, Series M part IV titled "facilities to be provided to the passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights" in 2010, which were revised from time to time to ensure appropriate protection for air travellers in case of flight disruptions and in particular, denied boardings, flight cancellations and delays."

The DGCA said it has carried out inspections of scheduled domestic airlines at various major airports on a continuing basis since May 2023. "During the inspections of the airlines, it was observed that Air India was not complying with the provisions of the relevant CAR. Accordingly, a show-cause notice has been issued to Air India seeking their response for non-compliance to the provisions of the CAR", the DGCA statement read.

Notably, this is not the first time the airline has been called out for non-compliance of CAR rules.

"It may be recalled that similar inspections had earlier been carried out at major airports last year also and on ground of similar non-compliance by Air India with the provisions of CAR on Denied Boarding of passengers, a penalty of Rs 10,00,000 was imposed on Air India for the violations," the aviation regulator added.