India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has warned Air India that it may suspend or revoke the airline's licence after ordering the removal of three staffers for "repeated and serious violations" related to pilot staffing. The news comes as authorities investigated the cause of a horrific plane crash that resulted in the deaths of 241 people on board and several more on the ground.

The regulatory body cited "systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability" for its decision. DGCA has said that any future violation of crew scheduling norms, licensing, or flight time limitations will attract "strict enforcement action". According to the Hindustan Times, DGCA ordered an immediate removal of Choorah Singh, divisional vice president of the Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC), Pinky Mittal, chief manager-DOPS, crew scheduling and Payal Arora, crew scheduling-planning, from all roles related to crew scheduling and rostering.

In its June 20 enforcement order, the DGCA said: "Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses. These officials have been involved in serious and repeated lapses."

Any future violation detected in any of these areas will "attract strict enforcement action, including but not limited to penalties, license suspension, or withdrawal of operator permissions as applicable," the regulator warned.

While the GGCA has not directly linked its latest enforcement action to the crash on June 12, according to the Hindustan Times the regulator is stepping up its scrutiny of the airline. The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad last Thursday, killing all but one of the people on board and at least 30 on the ground. Investigations as to the cause of the crash are underway.

Air India said it has complied with the DGCA directive and removed the three officials named in the order.

"In the interim, the company's chief operations officer will provide direct oversight to the IOCC," the airline said in a statement. "Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices."

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