Jet Airways appealed to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday against the month-long suspension of its two pilots earlier this week, sources told FE. The two were part of a bigger group of 131 pilots issued a showcause notice by the aviation regulator on September 5, after an audit of the carrier found them to be flying with lapsed pilot proficiency checks (PPCs).
The carrier is reportedly worried that if all the pilots receive a suspension, it could lead to major disruptions in flight operations and impact profitability at a time when its burdened with record losses. FE had first reported on the suspension and the discrepancy in Jet’s explanation to the DGCA for the lapsed PPCs on October 2.
Sources said the Mumbai-based full-service airline called an emergency meeting of its operations team on Thursday afternoon ? a national holiday ? to discuss the course of action. The letter, seeking reprieve from the DGCA for the two pilots, Kaustubh Pandit and Tash Sakpal, was sent right after the meeting.
?The suspension of the two pilots has caught the Jet management by surprise. If the DGCA does not revoke it, the regulator will have to suspend the remaining 129 as well. You can imagine the consequences,? a source close to the development said.
A query to Jet Airways on the letter sent to the DGCA did not elicit a response till the time of going to press.
Till now, Jet has officially claimed ?ambiguity? and ?lack of clarity? in the country’s Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) for the adverse finding of the DGCA audit. Last month, Jet’s senior VP for flight operations, Nikhil Ved, asked the 131 pilots to reply to DGCA citing the older rules that say that PPCs can be extended to eight months. However, as previously reported by FE, internal communication within Jet from September 2013 clearly indicate that the company was well aware that as per the updated CAR, PPCs need to be taken every six months without any room for extension. In fact, Jet’s Operating Manual Revision 6, which was implemented in January this year, also highlights the latter.
A former Jet captain, Arvind Singh, also wrote a complaint to Prabhat Kumar, Director-General of the DGCA, on Friday on the same matter.
?This (Jet’s) explanation is clearly an after thought, which is being used to mislead the authorities in an attempt to conceal a deliberate violation of law. Sufficient documentary evidence exists to establish the fact that the company management knowingly and deliberately utilised unqualified pilots to operate commercial flights, thereby endangering the life of countless passengers,? said the complaint, which is also marked to DGCA’s chief vigilance officer and government’s chief vigilance commissioner.
It added, ?It is prudent to mention that in the event of any accident occurring on such flights the insurance companies would have held the compensations claim invalid, resulting in the government of India taking the burden to provide relief to the affected parties. Sir, you are requested to ensure that a free and fare investigation is carried out in the matter and the guilty (are) brought to book.?