The Hindu Business Line : `Only engineers must certify the airworthiness of aircraft and not pilots'

Chennai June 1 The Air Passengers Association of India wants the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to withdraw its permission letting pilots certify aircraft fitness at transit destinations — a job normally done by engineers.

"This will prove disastrous from the point of view of air safety since pilots do not have the competency to certify the fitness of aircraft," according to Mr D. Sudhakara Reddy, Founder and National President, Air Passengers Association of India.

According to Mr Reddy, due to a shortage of engineers the DGCA last month empowered pilots to certify the fitness of aircraft at transit destinations. The shortage was also aggravated by the cost cutting exercise especially by low-cost carriers.

Airworthiness

The association wanted the DGCA to withdraw the regulation and authorise only engineers to certify the airworthiness of aircraft. The Air India and Indian Airlines Engineers' Association has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court against the regulation of the DGCA, he said.

According to information in DGCA Web site there are around 750 aircraft in India. Mr Reddy said the fleet size is expected to grow by about 25 per cent for the next few years. But there is a shortage of around 2,500 engineers and the shortage is likely to increase in the next few years.

Mr Reddy said in a short-haul the average turnaround of an aircraft — from the time an aircraft touches down to take-off — was 40-50 minutes. Pilots leave after all the passengers exit the aircraft and board the aircraft ahead of the passengers. In between, there will be 10-15 minutes for the pilots to check the airworthiness of aircraft, he said.

Pilot shortage

Mr Reddy said there is also an acute shortage of pilots. Around 500 pilots are needed in the next couple of years to meet the increase in aircraft fleet. However, 39 flying schools (half of them are non-functional) will churn out only 200 pilots. There are only six chief flying instructors. It is not just a matter of quantity, but the quality of pilots that was not up to the standards, he said.

Pilots from countries such as Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Africa and South America are hired to meet the shortage of pilots, and there are 600 of them in India. However, most of these foreign pilots are not experienced to fly in Indian weather conditions, especially during monsoon, he said.

Mr Reddy said the association has drafted a bill on Passengers Rights, and forwarded it to the Consumer Affairs Ministry and Civil Aviation. Passengers face problems of delays, loss of baggage and unhygienic food. Air passengers are not aware of their rights and suffer, he said.

The association also mooted the idea of an Aviation Regulatory Authority of India — like the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for the telecom sector — to cover the entire gamut of the airline industry, including airports and agents. However, the Centre is considering an Airport Economic Regulators Authority of India that will cover only the tariff-related issues at airports, he said.

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