Although Jet Airways has blamed the ?lack of clarity? in the government?s rules for its pilots flying even after their mandatory pilot proficiency checks (PPCs) had lapsed, an internal company memo shows the official concerned had drawn the attention of the management to the fact that pilots cannot fly till their PPC is renewed.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had initiated an audit into Jet after the airline?s Mumbai-Brussels flight, with 280 passengers on board, plunged 5,000 feet over Turkey last week as one of the pilots had dozed off and the co-pilot was busy on an iPad.

A subsequent audit by DGCA found that 131 of the carrier?s pilots continued to fly despite their PPC having lapsed. While the DGCA has already removed the training head, action against the 131 pilots is expected soon. On September 5, it issued a show-cause notice to three Jet officials, including senior vice-president of flight operations Nikhil B Ved.

In a media statement last week, Jet attributed the lack of clarity in government rules relating to civil aviation requirements (CAR) as the reason for pilots continuing to fly. ?Some of the (DGCA) audit findings have resulted due to a lack of clarity in the regulatory interpretation of the processes. The airline?s senior management will meet the DG and his team to discuss the ambiguity in some of the existing regulation and will work closely with DGCA to close all the findings. The airline welcomes the inputs of the regulator and confirms that it will comply with all established norms,? the statement had said.

However, FE has accessed an internal email by Jet?s manager (training and flight operations) clarifying the rules categorically to senior Jet officials. ?With the new Training CAR effective September 1, 2013, included are guidelines to enable all personnel follow the regulatory requirements and monitor the validations in order to avoid lapses,? the email dated September 24, 2013 said. ?PPC validity to date, No extension. If a pilot is unable to undergo PPC as per the validity he is to be assigned NTST (not to be scheduled) till such time he undergoes the PPC,? the mail had stated.

In response to an FE query regarding the internal memo clarifying the rules, a Jet spokesperson said, ?We have already had a dialogue with DGCA officials and we will address the issues in our response to the DGCA.?

Industry officials speculate that the airline might have chosen to extend the PPC of the 131 pilots because of an acute shortage that would have affected its domestic and international operations. Moreover, the lease of the building where Jet had its pilot training simulators recently expired, forcing the airline to send pilots to Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Djakarta and Bangkok to train and do the PPC, both an expensive and time-consuming process. Incidentally, to solve this problem, Jet this Wednesday announced that it was shifting the simulators to the aviation services firm CAE?s Bangalore facility.

The rules require pilots of commercial jets to do a type-rating on the aircraft type they will fly, whether a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A330, once they have procured an airline transport pilot licence. That is followed by an instrument rating with a year?s validity, a PPC with a six-month validity, line/route check again with six months? validity and medical checks.

With a market share of 16.1% in August, Jet Airways is the country?s second-largest full-service carrier. The airline, which reported record losses of over Rs 4,000 crore in FY14, is currently in the midst of a restructuring and is looking to turn around its domestic business. Jet has announced a single-brand policy, under which its low-cost carrier JetKonnect will be configured into a full-service, two-class airline by December.