DGCA to meet airlines in Mumbai, discuss upcoming UN safety audit

All the players active in the India aviation sector will meet in the city on Monday to prepare for an upcoming safety audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a United Nations (UN) agency that looks into international aviation safety.

The meeting has been organised by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the country’s aviation regular. It comes after the ICAO announced to conduct a safety audit of the DGCA in November. During the inspection, airlines will be asked to explain safety norms and regulations in place. The meeting will be held at DGCA’s Andheri office.

Pointing out loopholes in the safety aspects, the ICAO and the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), US, downgraded India’s aviation sector in 2012. The agencies had then said that the airworthiness of the Indian aircrafts was an issue and the coordination between the airlines and the DGCA was unsatisfactory.

Though the rating was upgraded in 2015, the DGCA wants to be careful for the coming up safety audit. There is a possibility of the ICAO conducting surprise checks. It audits various streams such as accident investigations, licensing, air navigation and aerodromes and airworthiness.

“Airlines are being guided to improve on some of the issues well in advance, so that they are prepared for a surprise audit by the safety watchdog,” said a senior DGCA official.

The DGCA initiated a ‘special audit’ of Indigo, SpiceJet and Jet Airways for their overall safety and operations and the airworthiness of their fleets last month. In addition, the DGCA recently hired 67 flight operation inspectors, aligned its rules with the ICAO norms and started certifying flight examiners. Officials said the ICAO team is likely to visit India in the first half of November.