DGCA fails to plug safety loopholes even as FAA review meeting looms

Despite tall claims by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of having plugged most deficiencies pointed out by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the regulator has so far been able to recruit only 35 of the 75 chief flight operations inspectors (CFOIs).

The dismal picture emerges even as the DGCA prepares to move the US regulator next month to revoke the January downgrade of India's aviation sector from category I to category II.

The downgrade has barred Air India and Jet Airways from expanding their operations in the US and impacted codeshare arrangements with their American counterparts.

A DGCA official told MAIL TODAY that although top bosses are rushing ahead with scheduling the meeting, the time is not right as FAA is likely to take a more stringent view with a series of crashes have taken place globally the last month or so.

The DGCA plans to submit its final report and make a comprehensive presentation before FAA on the progress made in rectifying the defects pointed by the US regulator.

DGCA had appointed US-based firm The Wicks Group under a bilateral assistance programme funded by the United States Trade and Development Agency to help it upgrade their operations in order to restore the category-I status.

Concerned over a series of recent crashes globally, Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar citing the minister of state for civil aviation reply's in Parliament last week pointed out that the downgrading was largely due to the lack of a sufficient number of CFOIs resulting in poor oversight of air safety.

Chandrashekhar told MAIL TODAY that the issue concerning aviation safety is all the more important as the world is witnessing air crashes quite frequently. "I had taken up the matter before the House (Rajya Sabha) in the current Session. The government has admitted that insufficient CFIOs resulted in poor safety oversight," the MP said.

Shortage of flight operations inspectors (FOIs) was one of the seven findings by FAA that led to the downgrade.

However, in defence of the DGCA stand, a top official said that it has begun interviews of CFOIs. "We are also seeking for a fresh safety audit of airlines," he explained.

Earlier, FOIs were mostly pilots and engineers of AI and private carriers but were sent on deputation to the DGCA, which led to a conflict of interest.

In association with Mail Today