By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, June 21 (Reuters) - India's aviation watchdog

has issued a warning to Air India for "repeated and serious

violations" related to pilot duty scheduling and oversight,

according to government directives reviewed by Reuters on

Saturday.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directed

Air India to remove three company executives from crew

scheduling roles - a divisional vice president, a chief manager

of crew scheduling and one planning executive - for lapses

linked to flights from Bengaluru to London on May 16 and May 17

that exceeded the stipulated pilot flight time limit of 10

hours.

The June 20 order cited "systemic failures in scheduling

protocol and oversights" and criticised the lack of strict

disciplinary measures against responsible officials.

The latest action by the aviation authority against the

airline is unrelated to this month's crash of an Air India

Boeing 787-8 plane that killed all but one of the 242

people onboard but signal heightened scrutiny of the airline.

On Thursday, Reuters reported the authorities had also

warned Air India for breaching safety rules after three of its

Airbus planes flew despite being overdue for checks on emergency

equipment of escape slides.

The latest order by assistant director of operations at the

DGCA, Himanshu Srivastava, said: "Of particular concern is the

absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials

directly responsible."

In a statement to Reuters, Air India said it has implemented

the DGCA order and in the interim, the company's chief

operations officer will provide direct oversight to the

Integrated Operations Control Centre.

"Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total

adherence to safety protocols and standard practices," it added.

The DGCA stated in its order that Air India had voluntarily

disclosed the violations.

Air India was taken over by the Tata Group in 2022 and faces

many challenges in its attempts to rebuild its image, after

years of criticism from travelers for poor service.

The Indian regulator, like many abroad, often fines airlines

for compliance lapses. India's government in February told

parliament that authorities had warned or fined airlines in 23

instances for safety violations last year.

Around half of them - 12 - involved Air India and Air India

Express. The biggest fine was $127,000 on Air India for

"insufficient oxygen on board" during some international

flights.