Air India and SpiceJet are under DGCA scrutiny for not deploying adequately trained pilots in Delhi's dense fog, leading to numerous flight diversions
Air India and SpiceJet have been served show cause notices by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for failing to ensure that only pilots equipped with the necessary training to land in dense fog in Delhi-operated flights in recent days. This oversight resulted in a significant number of diversions due to low visibility conditions.
A senior official from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has stated that the two airlines must provide their responses within a span of 14 days, as per a report by the Times of India. The notice pertains to the scheduling of pilots who are not compliant with CAT III requirements.
During the midnights of December 24-25 and 27-28, 58 flights destined for Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) were diverted, as reported by officials at Delhi airport. Of these diversions, 50 flights were a result of captains lacking the necessary training to operate in low visibility conditions, as per sources cited by the report.
Following verification through data obtained from airlines and air traffic control (ATC), the DGCA has issued notices to both Air India and SpiceJet in response to their investigation.
With the reappearance of low visibility and dense fog in northern India, the DGCA's recent action is timely, as it seeks to prevent a recurrence of the situation observed between December 24-28, where airlines failed to ensure the presence of CAT III-compliant pilots on flights to Delhi during periods of low visibility.