AIX Connect (I5, Bangalore International) has taken corrective steps after India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) flagged that its pilots were lacking pilot proficiency checks (PPC) and instrument rating (IR) tests.

“We acknowledge that we received a finding from DGCA as part of our main base inspection in December 2022 and have taken immediate corrective action through additional simulator sessions for our pilots in coordination with DGCA. Our training standards remain uncompromised with no deviation in safety margins, and we remain dedicated to ensuring the highest level of safety and quality in all facets of our operations,” an AIX Connect spokesperson told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.

Still, the airline formerly known as AirAsia India (Bangalore International) could face a financial penalty of up to INR10 million rupees (USD 122,700) from the regulator or have the chief training pilot removed, unnamed sources told PTI.

“At the beginning when the airline started operations, there was a laid down set of pro forma, which would be circulated to each pilot by the chief pilot (training standards). So there was no chance of missing any of these mandatory exercises,” one of the sources said. However, when the practice of circulating pro forma was discontinued, pilots started missing their PPCs and IR tests. PPCs must be carried out on an aircraft or on a simulator twice a year and IR checks every year.

Earlier this month, the DGCA fined Air India (AI, Delhi International) INR3 million (USD36,811) for not reporting an incident involving a drunk passenger on its New York JFK-Delhi International flight in November 2022.

ch-aviation has asked AIX Connect for comment.