Disciplinary action was taken against Passi after Spicejet wrote to the DGCA charging him with nepotism.
Helicopter operations were shifted to Juhu in January after Mumbai airport authorities banned chopper movements.
New DGCA rules stipulate airlines have to apply for permit at least 90 days before launch
The airline, however, has not secured approval from airports to fly again.
A British national of Serbian origin, who had 10,000 hours of flying experience and had been operating in India for the last two years, commandeered the Air India aircraft, which crashed at Mangalore airport on Saturday.
Sources said the DGCA is reviewing tests by the US-based Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Air Safety Agency (EASA) on mobile phone usage on board aircraft.
Helicopters are anticipated to be more in demand compared to fixed-wing aircraft as choppers will help in providing accessibility to rural and remote areas in a shorter time.
Raghu Menon, special secretary and financial advisor in the civil aviation ministry, has been appointed the chairman and managing director of Air India, ending weeks of speculation over the issue.The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the name of Menon, a 1974 batch IAS officer of the Assam-Nagaland cadre, after a keen race for the top job in the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), which runs the merged national carrier.
After allowing FDI by foreign carriers in their Indian counterparts, the government has put in place provisions to prevent Indian airlines from being controlled and managed by the foreign investor.
The DGCA official who wrongly assigned the code of Antonov AN-32 -- an aircraft used by the IAF -- to the SpiceJet aircraft has been suspended, report Arindam Majumder and Aneesh Phadnis.
In a move which could affect the Jet-Etihad deal or start-up carriers like Tata-SIA or AirAsia India, DGCA has made it clear that foreign airlines or investors would not have the right to control the management of an Indian carrier.
Seeking to avoid inconvenience to air passengers due to delays on foggy winter mornings, the government has instructed all airline operators to provide refreshments to travellers as they wait for their flights.
The airline's pilots and engineers at Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai have rejected the three-month salary offer.
The watchdog has also asked the airlines to ensure various requirements are complied with by engineering and maintenance personnel with respect to 737 MAX planes.
Kingfisher has hastened to point out that a suspension was not a cancellation.
On October 5, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGCA, finally wrote to the troubled Kingfisher Airlines, asking it to show cause why its licence should not be revoked.
Last Friday, DGCA issued a show cause notice to the airline why its operating permit should not be suspended.
A DGCA official clarified that while Tuesday's order does permit off-duty pilots and off-duty cabin crew members to travel in the cockpit's jump seat, they will have to still undergo pre-flight alcohol test just like the pilots flying the plane.
DGCA summons airline's officials on safety issues.
An official financial audit of all Indian carriers has found that safety issues were being neglected by some of them due to serious financial distress and suggested stringent action, including cancelling of flying permits, against two major carriers.
