Pilots in soup for abusing DGCA official
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Tuesday filed a police complaint against 34 pilots of private airlines for abusing a senior official in a Whats App group chat.
Based on the complaint, 10 Jet Airways pilots were questioned by the Delhi Police. No charges were framed and the pilots were let off in the evening.
Tension between pilots and the DGCA has been on the rise following a draft proposal to increase their notice period for resigning from six months to a year. Several pilots have complained to the regulator while others vented their frustration on social media.
One Whats App group chat with obscene comments against a senior DGCA official triggered the action.
“The DGCA has filed a complaint (against pilots) for making remarks against our officials on social media. It is for the police to take any action,” Director General of Civil Aviation B S Bhullar said in a text message.
Along with Jet Airways, pilots from Go Air, Indi Go and Spice Jet have been named in the complaint. The airlines have apologised to the DGCA.
The DGCA on Tuesday summoned 10 Jet Airways pilots who had wrongly referred to Joint Director-General Lalit Gupta as joint director in an e-mail, protesting against the proposed rule.
The pilots were accompanied by Sudhir Gaur, senior vice-president (operations), Jet Airways.
The regulator directed the airline to check the mental alertness of pilots who could not quote Gupta’s proper designation. The pilots were asked to submit apology letters and were later taken to the Lodhi Road police station for questioning.
“Jet Airways confirms a few of its cockpit crew were called to record their statements by the local authorities in response to a complaint. The airline is extending its cooperation to the authorities. Jet will take appropriate measures according to company policy and in compliance with the law,” the airline said in a statement.
“We are looking into the charges and extending cooperation to the DGCA in this matter. On the basis of the findings of our internal inquiry, we will take appropriate action,” Indi Go said in an e-mailed response.
“No Spice Jet pilot has written any derogatory or obscene message against any DGCA official. One of our pilots just forwarded some Whats App messages to a few friends and colleagues,” Spice Jet said.
“The DGCA had called the pilots for the meeting. We had no issue with them meeting the DGCA, but now the matter has taken a different turn. We will continue to support our colleagues and have contacted our lawyers,” said Sam Varghese, committee member of the National Aviators’ Guild.
“DGCA has filed a complaint (against pilots) for making remarks against our officials on social media. It is for the police to take any action,” B S BHULLAR Director General of Civil Aviation “The DGCA had called the pilots for the meeting. We had no issue with them meeting the DGCA, but now the matter has taken a different turn. We will continue to support our colleagues and have contacted our lawyers,” SAM VARGHESE, Committee member of National Aviators Guild