The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    DGCA probe finds ‘alarming practices’ by some airlines

    Synopsis

    The crackdown came against the brackdrop of accidents and incidents this monsoon.August and September, according to DGCA data, have seen six and two incidents. There were 11 incidents in July — the highest in the year.

    Plane-UDAN-
    The regulator admits that the crackdown revealed “alarming practices” (in some airlines).
    (This story originally appeared in on Oct 20, 2019)
    NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has reported “alarming practices” in some airlines that “merited tough action,” following which there has been a decline in the “unchecked” accident rate. The crackdown came against the brackdrop of accidents and incidents this monsoon.

    August and September, according to DGCA data, have seen six and two incidents. There were 11 incidents in July — the highest in the year. Of the total 49 incidents/accidents/serious accidents, SpiceJet accounted for 20; AI Group (AI, AI Express and Alliance Air) and IndiGo for 11 each; Vistara, GoAir and AirAsia India for 2 each and one for Heritage Aviation.

    The regulator admits that the crackdown revealed “alarming practices” (in some airlines). An official said the licenses of more than 60 pilots were suspended for varying periods of time.

    “We will always be vigilant. We have arrested the (worrying spiralling trend of accidents this monsoon) and our safety standards are showing definite signs of improvement. Safety cannot and will not be compromised and we will not allow any laxity,” said DGCA chief Arun Kumar.

    The rising trend of incidents — like aircraft overshooting runways and suffering tail strikes on landing — started from April and peaked in July. Following this, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) launched an audit of airlines and sent showcause notices to operation in-charges and heads of pilot training.

    “The details found (in probe) were shared with those responsible for the same. Based on their replies, we took required enforcement action. Under our robust appeals process, we give a personal hearing to crew involved and take the correct view,” said Kumar.


    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    ...more

    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in