DGCA Suspends Two Akasa Air Directors Over Lapses In Pilot Training

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has ordered the suspension of two directors of Akasa Air for six months over lapses in pilot training and directed the airline to nominate “suitable candidate(s)" as replacements.

The two senior executives—Director of Training Niraj Bhatia and Director of Flight Operations Floyd Gracious—were found to have "failed" to ensure compliance with civil aviation requirements, the DGCA said on Friday in two separate orders, reviewed by NDTV Profit.

The action came after the aviation safety regulator conducted an audit at Akasa’s Mumbai facility on Oct. 7 and found that “RNP (required navigation performance) training approaches were being conducted on simulators that have not been qualified for the same." RNP training teaches pilots to navigate aircraft accurately in airspace that requires precise navigation, usually using GPS.

The regulator had issued a show cause notice to SNV Aviation Pvt., which runs Akasa Air, regarding this violation on Oct. 15. However, the airline's response was deemed "unsatisfactory," leading to the suspension of its directors. "Also, repeated lapses/violations have been found pertaining to training," the orders read.

"Akasa Air is in receipt of an order from the DGCA dated 27th December 2024," the airline confirmed, responding to NDTV Profit's queries. "We will continue to work with the DGCA and comply accordingly.’’

Akasa, one of India’s youngest airlines, backed by the Rakesh Jhunjhunwala family, has been flying through turbulence for quite some time now. Earlier this week, the regulator imposed a Rs 10 lakh fine on the airline for not compensating seven passengers who were denied boarding on a Bengaluru-Pune flight. The DGCA also slapped two show-cause notices on Akasa Air in December, one over alleged non-compliance with operations manual norms and the other over poor maintenance standards and certification and other lapses.

Akasa Air, which started operating commercial flights in August 2022, has 26 planes in its fleet. The budget carrier, which flies to 27 destinations, including five international cities, had a domestic market share of 4.7% in November. It has around 4,300 employees, including about 800 pilots.