DGCA to begin surprise safety checks of airports

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with the backing of civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju will now start surprise checks of airports besides facilities of all schedule, non-schedule, general aviation companies, foreign airlines and the aviation wings of state governments.

Though a broad schedule of carrying out these checks has been prepared, details regarding which airline or private operator or airport would be targeted will be decided at the last minute to keep the element of surprise, sources said.

Official sources said that the DGCA has chalked out a month-long programme for surprise checks. This would continue for the next few months, at least, till the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revokes the downgrading of India's aviation sector .

The FAA had in January downgraded the aviation sector on safety concerns. The downgrade was ordered primarily due to lack of trained technical manpower, including full-time flight operation inspectors (FOIs) at the DGCA.

In June, a total of 14 aircrafts were grounded by the DGCA. The regulator conducted 55 surprise special surveillance checks as part of its oversight activity to ensure strict compliance of safety regulations. Around 2,400 surveillance audits and 20 regulatory audits have been planned under annual surveillance programme this year.

The checks and audits would cover issues like safety preparedness at airports, whether crucial documents like minimum equipment lists or fire-fighting equipment are on board a flight, whether pilots are carrying their licences or how engineering activities or the mandatory breath analyser tests are being conducted by airlines.

Besides, the regulator could take disciplinary action like suspension, cancellation or restricting the scope of various approvals and licences if it finds serious violation of requirements, an official said.

Last month, the DGCA had ordered its own team to carry out a special engineering audit of SpiceJet after it found serious engineering issues with aircraft of the no-frills carrier. In a first-of-its-kind action, DGCA had directed SpiceJet to refund fare to passengers of a Mumbai-Delhi flight delayed by about five hours on July 28 due to engineering problems which led the pilots to abort take-off and return to the bay.