On the heels of the Mangalore air-crash, the DGCA is monitoring several aspects of the functioning of Air India Express including monitoring of flight duty time limitation (FDTL) rules for flight crew, number of pilots on the regular roll of Air India Express, the number of officers in the airline posted to oversee operations, safety and training aspects as well as the current number of mechanics working with the airline. Air India Express is the low cost carrier of Air India.
Air India on Monday said the DGCA, in a recent meeting, had “highlighted certain issues” in these areas and that the airline had issued orders subsequently for appointment of a “chief of operations”, deputation of pilots to Air India Express for five years, computerisation of the FDTL monitoring, continuation of strict implementation of regulations relating to pre-flight medical checks, deployment of trainee pilots after training on the Boeing 737s, and recruitment of additional mechanics from the armed forces.