Mumbai:

Aviation watchdog DGCA has withdrawn the Line Training Captain approval given to an Akasa Air pilot for lapses in landing of a passenger aircraft in March 2024, till further orders, according to sources.

Besides, the permission given to the pilot for carrying Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) has been withdrawn.

This is the latest incident of Akasa Air coming under regulatory scanner for lapses.

In an order issued on Monday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in an audit of Akasa Air conducted in October last year found that the pilot had made a hard landing, which means the aircraft had made an abnormal contact with the runway, the sources said.

The incident was closed with a counselling session and no corrective training was imparted to the pilot concerned, as per the order.

DGCA found that the replies by the airline and the pilot to its show cause notices, issued in November 2024, were not satisfactory.

As a result, the sources said DGCA has decided to withdraw the Line Training Captain (LTC) approval and STOL privileges of the pilot with immediate effect and till further orders.

Also, the pilot has been directed to undergo a minimum corrective training simulator session of two hours to cover stabilisation criteria and visual cues on short final such as flare and touchdown, missed approach, and hazards of cancelling go-around, among other aspects.

There was no immediate comment from Akasa Air.

Last month, DGCA ordered the suspension of director of operations and director of training at Akasa Air for six months for alleged lapses in pilots’ training. The move also came against the backdrop of some pilots raising concerns about alleged training and safety issues at the airline even though it had rejected them as baseless and untrue.

In October, the aviation regulator had imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Akasa Air for certain lapses in the training of crew.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

An Akasa Air passenger aircraft. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Newly launched budget carrier Akasa Air has moved the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to act against pilots who left the airline without serving their mandatory notice period.

Akasa Air, which operated its first commercial flight between Mumbai and Ahmedabad on August 7, 2022, has seen several pilots resign, affecting its operations. The airline told the High Court that it was in a “state of crisis” because of these resignations and had to cancel multiple flights every day this month.

The High Court has listed the airline’s plea for further hearing on September 22. The court also queried the DGCA as to what action it takes in case flights have to be cancelled due to pilots’ resignations.

‘Coercive action’

SNV Aviation Private Limited, which flies under the brand name Akasa Air, has sought a direction to the DGCA to “take coercive action against pilots who fail to comply with the mandatory notice period requirements, in terms of the Civil Aviation Requirement”.

“We have sought legal remedy only against a small set of pilots who abandoned their duties and left without serving their mandatory contractual notice period,” an Akasa Air statement said. “Not only is this illegal in law but also an unethical and selfish act that disrupted flights in August forcing last minute cancellations that stranded thousands of customers causing significant inconvenience to the travelling public,” it added.

(With PTI inputs)