Air India fined Rs 1.1 cr for flying Boeing to US with low emergency oxygen supply

Aviation watchdog DGCA has slapped a fine of Rs 1.10 crore on Air India for safety violations with respect to flights operated on certain long routes. According to a MoneyControl report, citing a statement, the aviation regulator pointed out that Air India’s leased Boeing 777 aircraft flew to the US without the necessary emergency oxygen supply system. The decision follows an investigation by the civil aviation ministry and the DGCA into a complaint filed by a former senior pilot against Air India who alleged that the airline operated Boeing 777 planes to the US without the required emergency oxygen supply, the report quoted DGCA as saying. The pilot, a former B777 commander, reported this practice to the ministry and the DGCA on 29 October but is no longer associated with the airline. Typically, most aircraft are equipped with cylinders to provide oxygen to overhead masks in the event of cabin depressurization, allowing for 12-15 minutes of oxygen supply per passenger. In the complaint, the pilot also claimed that he had refused to operate a leased B777 aircraft for the Air India flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru on 30 January, 2023 due to the issue with the oxygen system. Three months later, the pilot in the complaint said that he was terminated from the service by the airline, as per the complaint. “Since the said operations of the leased aircraft were not in line with regulatory/ OEM performance limits, DGCA has initiated enforcement action and imposed a penalty of Rs 1.10 crore on Air India,” DGCA said in the release. With inputs from agencies