Air India must uplift safety culture to highest levels: CEO Campbell Wilson

Air India must uplift its safety culture to the highest level because what was once considered "acceptable" is no longer so, the airline's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD), Campbell Wilson said on Friday.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended the airline's Chief of Flight Safety, Rajeev Gupta, for one month on Thursday after the regulator uncovered multiple lapses during a surveillance carried out in July.

The DGCA also instructed the airline not to assign any internal audits to the airline employees who conducted an internal audit in a “perfunctory” manner.

“You may also have read about the sanctions taken against two of our (Air India's) staff for lapses in the way a safety audit was conducted earlier this year. We acknowledge and accept the DGCA's findings, which are another firm reminder that the ways of working that were once considered acceptable are (quite correctly) no longer so,” Wilson told employees on Friday in a message that has been reviewed by Business Standard.

“Safety is Air India's highest priority, and in addition to investing heavily in people, processes, and systems to raise its standards to best practice, the airline must also uplift its culture of safety and diligence to the highest levels,” Wilson explained.

The requirements and expectations with respect to safety are clear, and training and advice are readily available, he mentioned. "Consequences for tardiness and transgression are robust and should come as no surprise. I want everyone to be under no doubt that we will be applying extra focus on this area for as long as is needed to effect the necessary outcomes and ask that you join me in reaffirming a personal and collective commitment to raising standards," he added.

The DGCA's action on Thursday came after its two-member team conducted surveillance on July 25 and 26 at Air India's headquarters in Gurugram.

In its surveillance, the regulator found deficiencies in the "accident prevention work" carried out by the airline and the "availability of requisite technical manpower" as required in the approved flight safety manual and the relevant regulations.

Additionally, some internal audits or spot checks claimed to be carried out by the airline "were done in a perfunctory manner and not as per the regulatory requirements," the DGCA noted.

This is not the first time that the DGCA has taken action against a senior executive of an airline in India over safety violations. In August 2020, AirAsia India’s Chief of Operations, Manish Uppal, and Chief of Flight Safety, Mukesh Nema, were suspended for three months after one of its former pilots, YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, alleged violations of safety norms in the airline.

Similarly, in July 2019, four senior executives of SpiceJet — GP Gupta, accountable executive; GPS Grewal, chief of flight safety; SPS Suri, senior vice-president — operations; and Vishal Sawhney, head of training — were issued show cause notices by the DGCA after a special audit team of the aviation regulator found lapses on their part after probing multiple landing incidents involving the airline. 

Grewal resigned, while Suri and Sawhney were removed from their posts by SpiceJet.

There have been two major safety violations at Air India in the last couple of months.

The first instance is the aforementioned surveillance that was conducted by a two-member team of the regulator at the airline’s head office in Gurugram on July 25 and 26.

The team found that the airline allegedly fabricated reports in all 13 areas of internal safety checks, including cargo, ramp, and cabin surveillance.

In the second instance, the regulator had in August suspended Air India’s approved training organisation (ATO) licence. This has halted operations for both its simulators, the Boeing simulator in Mumbai and the Airbus simulator in Hyderabad. This action was taken due to lapses identified during a spot check conducted by the regulator.

Consequently, the certification and licence renewal processes for Air India’s pilots were suspended after DGCA’s intervention.

On September 7, the DGCA conditionally reactivated Air India’s ATO licence for 30 days after the airline rectified the deficiencies found during the spot check. The regulator also instructed the airline to conduct an internal audit of its simulators within this 30-day period and submit a report.

All pilots are required to undergo compulsory licence renewals every six months using a simulator. They must also complete annual certification courses, including instrument rating, ground training refresher, and aviation security, using a simulator. Failure to undertake these certification courses and licence renewals prevents a pilot from operating a commercial flight.

As of August 1, Air India had 74 Airbus planes, and 53 Boeing aircraft in its fleet, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.