Air India off-rosters two pilots for allowing woman friend into cockpit

New Delhi: Air India has off-rostered two pilots operating from Delhi to Leh for violating safety norms by allowing entry of a ‘woman friend’ into the cockpit on June 3, an official close to the matter said on Tuesday.

This comes a month after the airline grounded another pilot for inviting a woman friend into the cockpit of a Dubai-Delhi flight on February 27. “The (latest) incident took place on AI 445 last week after the flight took off from Delhi. Both the pilots have been off-rostered since then,” the official said. “The friend is a senior helicopter pilot who was travelling as a passenger,” the official added.,A second official requesting anonymity said, “The matter was formally reported by a male crew upon landing in Delhi.”

While officials said that the incident was reported to the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), there was no clarity if the DGCA had taken any action against them.

“This is not an uncommon scenario, and it is not limited to Air India.

Pilots across the airlines have been allowing their friends just for a chat keeping safety of the passengers in mind,” a former Air India pilot said.

An industry expert, requesting anonymity, said, “There should be no excuses given for not following rules.”