Air India derosters 3 cabin crew members for ‘lapse’ in opening aircraft door: Report | Latest News India

Air India has derostered three cabin crew members for their mishandling of a Boeing 777 aircraft door, which resulted in the accidental auto-deployment of the emergency slides, news agency PTI reported citing sources

The incident occurred on September 15 on a flight from San Francisco that landed at Bengaluru airport.

When approached, an Air India spokesperson confirmed that a technical issue was identified with one of the doors not opening correctly upon landing, and the matter was promptly addressed, the report added.

What happened?

In a statement issued by Air India, the spokesperson confirmed that on September 15, the crew of flight 176 from San Francisco to Bengaluru encountered a technical issue with one of the aircraft’s doors, which did not open properly after landing, as reported by PTI.

“The issue was promptly attended to, passengers disembarked, and the aircraft was subsequently cleared for operation,” the statement said.

The airline also clarified that no damage occurred to the aerobridge, adding that “regulatory authorities have been informed as per procedure.”

According to a PTI source, “In a serious safety violation, the door of Air India’s Boeing 777 aircraft, which operated flight AI 176 from San Francisco to Bangalore on September 15, was opened in armed mode upon arrival at the Bangalore airport. This caused the emergency slides to automatically deploy.”

Another source told PTI that three cabin crew members had been derostered due to the incident, and an internal investigation had been initiated.

However, Air India did not comment on the derostering.

Sources further indicated that engineers were called to remove the deployed emergency slides.

“The damaged emergency slides had to be replaced with a new set, which caused a delay in the Bangalore-San Francisco flight,” one of the sources added.

This follows weeks after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed a ₹10 lakh fine on Air India Express for failing to comply with regulations. On August 29, the civil aviation regulator revealed it had conducted a surveillance inspection of all scheduled domestic airlines in June, during which it found Air India Express had not adhered to the rules.

The airline did not comment on the issue. However, HT has learned that the fine was related to the airline’s failure to compensate passengers (as required by regulations) during significant flight cancellations caused by the crew strike in mid-May. Air India Express has not confirmed this information.

The DGCA has established passenger-focused regulations to protect air travelers and ensure their rights are upheld.