Air India Pilot lets female cabin crew member sit in cockpit of Dubai-Delhi flight, DGCA probe underway

New Delhi: An Air India pilot is accused of allowing his female friend to sit in the cockpit. One of the crew members fielded a complaint on March 3rd against the pilot to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Air India has constituted a committee to investigate the issues raised.

The flight operating from Dubai to Delhi on February 27. According to the complaint, the captain wanted the crew to make sure the cockpit looked welcoming before letting his guest in, and he requested that she be served food from business class.

According to the complaint, problems began on AI 915 even before boarding. The cabin crew waited past the pilots’ reporting time before proceeding to the aircraft without meeting them. The pilots and passengers boarded the plane together. The captain then asked the crew to notify him if there were any spare seats in business class since he had a friend flying in economy class and wanted her to be upgraded. There weren’t, according to the team. He even asked her to bring pillows from the bunk for her comfort and she sat on the first observer seat.

The crew member stated in her complaint, “He said the cockpit should appear welcoming, warm and comfortable, as though he was preparing his living room for a lady friend. Also, to take her drinks and snacks order and serve her in the cockpit. I told him, ‘Captain, I am not comfortable serving alcohol in the cockpit’. This seems to have upset him a lot and his entire attitude changed from that moment onwards. He became very snappy and rude and from there on started treating me like a servant working exclusively for him.”

According to DGCA’s Civil Aviation Regulation, “An employee of the aircraft operator, who has the permission of the pilot-in-command (PIC) and whose duties are such that his/ her entry into the cockpit is necessary for the safe operation of the aircraft can only be allowed in the cockpit provided they have done the mandatory BA tests.”

The complaint stated, “While she was inside, the crew was summoned multiple times, during the passenger service on the short Delhi- Dubai sector, to offer her business class fare food and snacks. Though it interrupted the flow of service all requests were promptly catered to.”

It continued, “I noticed that the first officer was sleeping reclined fully with a pillow and the pilot in charge was sitting across facing the passenger in the rear observer station to chat. The pilot in charge indicated that the first officer (co-pilot) was taking a controlled rest and sleep.”

During the return trip, the complainant claimed that the captain was upset with her and made sexist remarks. She went on to say that she thought the pilot’s behaviour necessitated a psychiatric evaluation at an independent Air Force Medical testing station through the DGCA because he posed a risk to passenger safety.