DGCA slaps Rs 30 lakh fine on IndiGo for four tail strike incidents in six months

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

India's aviation regulator DGCA on Friday imposed a penalty of Rs 30 lakh on IndiGo airline for four tail strike incidents in six months of 2023. «DGCA has imposed a financial penalty of Rs 30 lakhs on IndiGo airlines and also directed them to amend their documents and procedures in line with DGCA requirements and OEM guidelines,» ANI quoted DGCA as saying.

Recently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had asked airlines to strictly follow rules as well as sensitise pilots and cabin crew to prevent incidents of unauthorised entry of people into the cockpit. The regulator had also warned that any non-compliance with the applicable regulation dealing with unauthorized cockpit entry shall be dealt with strictly and may also invite stringent enforcement action.

The DGCA move came against the backdrop of two recent incidents where unauthorised people were allowed inside the cockpit during scheduled flights. In an advisory, the DGCA had asked the heads of operations of all scheduled airlines to «prevent any unauthorised entry in the cockpit through appropriate means.» As per DGCA safety norms, unauthorised people are not allowed to enter the cockpit, and any such entry could violate norms.

«Instances of unauthorised entry into the aircraft cockpit have been reported to DGCA in the recent past, wherein persons having no authority or purpose, were permitted entry into the cockpit,» the regulator said in the advisory. According to DGCA, «such an unauthorized presence in the cockpit is likely to distract the attention of cockpit crew from their sensitive functions and can lead to errors which may jeopardize the safety of the aircraft operations.» It may be mentioned here that on June 3, the Pilot-in-Command of an Air