Air venture Air India has recently asked four employees of its ground-handling venture AISATS (Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited) to leave the country. Notably, this decision was taken after a video went viral on social media that showed the employees holding a dance party in the office.
Certain reports have suggested that the video was shot after the heart-wrenching AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad.
According to the recently released statement by the officials of Air India, the staff has decided to release the employees because it is against the policy of the company.
The official statement read, “We stand with full sympathy with the families affected by the tragic incident of AI 171. The behavior shown in the viral video is against our company's policy. We have taken strict disciplinary action against those responsible.”
It is worth mentioning that the exact date of the video release has not been revealed, but a few claims have mentioned that the video is from June 20, i.e., just eight (8) days after the incident. The employees were from the AISATS office, situated in Gurugram.
Air India flight AI 171, which was on a flight to London, had crashed into a building of a medical hostel less than fifteen minutes after takeoff. The plane crash killed 270 people, with 241 being the passengers and the airlines; during the accident, just one passenger survived.
Video is all over the internet -
The video has gone viral very fast on social media, creating outrage among the people. Users are doubting the sensitivity of Air India, and at this point, the airline is getting trolled.
Continuing with the series of events, DGCA ordered the removal of three Air India officials.
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had earlier that day instructed the airline to sack three officers. This was the Divisional Vice President Chuda Singh, who was the Chief Manager in the crew scheduling, Pinky Mittal, and Payal Arora, who assisted in planning the crew scheduling.
All three officers were found guilty of grave violation of aviation security standards, hence this action. Air India was directed by DGCA to promptly ban them when it came to the position involving crew scheduling and rostering.
The Pilot had declared a Mayday call
FlightRadar24 reported that the final signal of the aircraft was received at an altitude of 190 meters (625 feet) right after takeoff. According to India Civil Aviation regulator DGCA, the aircraft was on runway 23 and left at 1:39 PM on June 12. The aircraft made a Mayday (distress) call to the air control after takeoff, but nothing followed after this.
DGCA said there were 242 people on board the aircraft, with two pilots and 10 cabin crew members. The pilot had an experience of 8,200 and the co-pilot 1,100 hours of flight time.