Latif was promoted to the acting rank of Air Marshal in January 1974 and posted as Air Officer-in-charge Administration (AOA) at Air HQ. After a short stint, he was promoted substantive Air Marshal and appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) Central Air Command in Allahabad. As the AOC-in-C, he led the Air Force relief operations during the Patna floods in 1975. The floods were the worst that hit Patna. The Central Air Command, under Latif, flew as many as 20 helicopter sorties per day carrying out humanitarian tasks. On 1 March 1976, he took over as AOC-in-C of the Maintenance Command, where he had served as SAASO two decades ago, in Kanpur. After a year at the helm of the Maintenance Command, Latif moved to Air HQ as Vice Chief of the Air Staff in May 1977.