Comments
US aviation regulator Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has ranked India with countries such as Ghana and Bangladesh in its list of countries which do not meet the safety norms stipulated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The FAA downgraded India from Category I to Category II. This is the first time that India has been downgraded. The downgrade will hit flights to the US by Indian carriers. Currently, there are 28 flights a week — 21 by Air India and seven by Jet Airways.
The downgrade will make it difficult for the two carriers to expand their operations to other US cities. Air India flies to Chicago and New York while Jet Airways operates only to New York. The downgrade also means that Indian carriers could be subjected to more safety checks by the FAA. Each time an Indian aircraft lands in the US, it could, in theory, be detained indefinitely, till the FAA completes its checks.
Passengers may also be asked to report earlier than the current three hours for check-in to ensure that departures of Jet and Air India flights are not delayed.
The FAA move could also affect Air India’s plans of joining global airline network Star Alliance, as some global airlines could argue that the DGCA is not in a position to carry out safety oversight work.
While the downgrade does not mean that these airlines are unsafe, it shows that the FAA’s Indian counterpart — the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) — is not adequately equipped to properly monitor the safety performance of Indian carriers.
Expressing “disappointment” at the move, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh claimed that India had been downgraded as the aviation regulator was unable to meet two FAA requirements — hiring more trainers and every aircraft having a route-proving flight — out of the over 30 requirements which FAA had raised during its audits last year.
“India has started work on hiring more trainers with the Cabinet giving permission for recruitment of 75 more personnel. We will complete the process by March. The FAA has taken the step even as work is in progress and their report is based on old data,” the Minister said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.