Recruits unqualified to man surveillance, air navigation system: AAI association

The Airports Authority Officer’s Association (AAOA) has protested that unqualified candidates are being recruited to man the Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems. The AAOA has written to the civil aviation ministry on this matter.

According to CNS, while some officials protested near the AAI office in Delhi, the general secretary of AAOA has gone on to take a hunger strike.

CNS, a department under the Airports Authority of India (AAI), oversees communication between pilots and air traffic controllers and gives accuracy to aircraft position.

The AAOA is the only recognised body representing CNS executives.

On March 14, the AAOA wrote to the civil aviation ministry. “The issue of aviation safety has been given a bye [sic], by qualifying a huge chunk of candidates in written exams for managers in CNS with below par cut-off, thereby enabling unsuitable candidates to become eligible for jobs. This is a certainty for pushing through undeserving candidates for appointment wherein they will be senior to highly qualified Jr Executives and assistant managers with no real CNS experience,” the letter reads.

Of 1,700 candidates, 1,300 have not cleared the required Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), AAOA said.

The GATE is conducted by the Indian Institute of Science and a few Indian Institutes of Technologies. The existing staffers, who are two levels subordinate to the recent recruits, have cleared GATE, the association said.

“The recruitment of undeserving candidates to higher posts will not only demotivate the younger lot, but also severely impair operational efficiency of CNS,” a member of the association said.

AAI had not responded to HT’s request for a comment till the time of going to press.