Air India suspends commander for his failure

The government-run airline had recently announced the roll out of several new flights and routes as part of the summer schedule, which commenced from last Sunday, with Mumbai-Bhopal being one among those. 

“The commander wanted to go to Delhi. But when he came to know that the flight was not heading to Delhi but Mumbai he went missing, leaving the flyers in the lurch,” an Air India official said. 

The incident took place on Sunday, they added.  This last minute non-availability of the pilot left airline in a piquant situation as cancelling the inaugural flight would have sent wrong signals to the customers, the official said, adding, “Air India somehow managed to get a commander for the Airbus A320 plane and operate the flight.” 

“The commander was immediately taken off the duty and subsequently placed under suspension for this gross indiscipline,” the official said. The action is in line with Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani’s emphasis on integrity.