The Air India management has asked Pawan Arora, the newly appointed chief operating officer of Air India Express, to respond to charges levelled against him by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). If he fails to satisfy the DGCA, he would be asked to step down. The management will apprise the Air India board of its decision at its meeting on November 11.
Arora’s appointment has come under a cloud following charges that he was not qualified for the post. Recently, Air India’s independent directors have mounted pressure against the appointment.
?The management has asked Arora to provide an explanation to the DGCA with regard to his qualifications. If he fails to provide a suitable explanation, he will have to step down,? an Air India official told FE.
Arora’s appointment was cleared by the AI board on September 28 in the presence of four independent directors. Later, controversy erupted with the independent directors accusing the board of not disclosing information about his lack of qualifications for the post.
The directors later met the Prime Minister’s principal secretary TKA Nair.
Arora had reportedly not qualified as a flight operations instructor in DGCA, as he did not fulfill the minimum requirements for the post. There are also allegations that he was given the appointment letter even before board approval.
However, when contacted, a DGCA official told FE that so far, it had not received any communication from the AI seeking information on Arora.
?We had taken action against Arora on general complaints. Air India has not formally requested us for any information on Arora so far,? he said.
Meanwhile, Arora told FE that he had all the papers to prove his qualifications and the required procedure had been followed for his appointment in the DGCA to the best of his knowledge. So far, Arora had stayed mum on the charges levelled against him.
?The DGCA should have verified the complaint against me and also the credibility of the person making the complaint. The regulator should also have asked me to explain before making any adverse comment,? he said.
Air India chairman and managing director (CMD) Arvind Jadhav had informed members at the board meeting that there were no adverse reports against Arora when additional secretary and financial advisor in the civil aviation ministry Bharat Bhushan asked the management to check the performance appraisal of Arora from DGCA.
The board, however, cleared the appointment after the CMD satisfied the board members with his explanation.
Airline sources told FE that Jadhav is set to back Arora’s appointment if he proves his qualification as laid down by the DGCA.
The chairman is believed to have taken the position that Arora was selected by National Aviation Company of India’s COO Gustav Baldauf, a professional hired by the airline to revive it, and cleared by the board.
The Air India chairman is also expected to make it a point at the board meeting that the airline be allowed to function professionally and the the management empowered to take key decisions.
Arora is understood to be one of the referees for Baldauf for appointment as AI’s COO since they had earlier worked together with Jet Airways.