DGCA suspends two top officials at Akasa Air over “training lapses”

DGCA suspends Akasa Air's head of operations and head of training for six months due to training lapses.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday (December 27, 2024) suspended Akasa Air’s head of operations and head of training for six months each for lapses in training.

In an order on December 27, the DGCA wrote, “Director Training of M/s SNV Aviation private Limited (Akasa Air) dated 30th October 2024 has been examined and was found unsatisfactory.”

It said that the Director of Operations, Captain Floyd Gracious, and Director of Training, Neeraj Bhatia, were being suspended for six months. The DGCA has also asked the airline to nominate suitable candidates for the two positions.

This action follows a regulatory audit in October. The DGCA audit had found that pilots were being trained navigation approaches on a simulator which was not certified for the procedure. The DGCA said this was in violation of its rule and issued a show cause notice to the airline, but found the airline’s response to be unsatisfactory.

In the recent past, Akasa Air has faced DGCA heat multiple times. In October, the DGCA imposed a fine of ₹30 lakh on the airline for conducting practical training for technical instructors and pilots without the required approvals, exceeding permissible training hours, and appointing examiners not qualified for low visibility flight operations. There was also a show cause notice issued to the airline for alleged non-compliance of operations manual which had surpassed the revision cycle within the six-month timeline.

Earlier this week, the airline also faced a penalty of ₹10 lakh for not paying compensation to seven passengers after denying them boarding on its Bengaluru-Pune flight on September 6.