An Air India pilot collapsed just prior to operating a flight from Bengaluru to Delhi, reported PTI quoting sources on Friday. The pilot was immediately taken to hospital and the airline had to arrange another pilot to fly the passengers to their destination.

Air India confirmed that "there was a medical emergency involving one of our pilots in the early hours of July 4."

"There was a medical emergency involving one of our pilots in the early hours of July 4. As a result, the pilot was unable to operate the flight AI2414 from Bengaluru to Delhi, that he was rostered for, and was taken to a local hospital immediately," Air India said in a statement. According to PTI report, the pilot was in the cockpit and was about to sign the mandatory documents -- tech log -- to accept the aircraft for flying when he collapsed there, the sources said.

"He is currently stable but continues to be under the supervision of doctors at the same hospital," the airline said.

Recently, India’s civil aviation regulator has pulled up Air India for serious and repeated violations of crew safety norms, ordering the removal of three senior officials, head of crew rostering, from their positions in the airline’s scheduling department.The aviation watchdog has asked the Tata Group-owned airline to initiate internal disciplinary proceedings against these officials without delay. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has identified Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President, Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager - DOPS, Crew Scheduling, and Payal Arora, Crew Scheduling - Planning directly, responsible for the continued non-compliance.

The action comes after Air India voluntarily disclosed that flight crew were being scheduled and operated in violation of licensing, flight duty time, and rest period regulations, key requirements for flight safety.

( Originally published on Jul 04, 2025 )