Indian Aviation Sector 'Absolutely Safe': DGCA Chief On Issue Of Domestic Airlines Facing Technical Snags

According to DGCA Chief, the country's civil aviation space is "absolutely safe," and all protocols established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) are followed.

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Arun Kumar, the chief of the aviation authority DGCA, said on Sunday that technical issues encountered by domestic carriers in recent weeks did not have the capacity to cause mayhem, and that international airlines visiting India recorded 15 technical issues in the past 16 days, news agency PTI reported.

According to him, the country's civil aviation space is "absolutely safe," and all protocols established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) are followed.

Against the backdrop of a slew of technical issues experienced by Indian airlines in recent weeks, as well as the DGCA suspending SpiceJet operations, Kumar emphasized that there is no reason to fear because none of the incidents reported/discussed had the potential to cause chaos.

"All the snags experienced are routine and happen with all airlines and all types of fleet. In the last 16 days, even for the foreign operators who come to India, we have seen 15 technical snags, which have been attended and rectified," Kumar told PTI in an interview.

In last 16 days, foreign airlines that came to India suffered 15 technical snags; all issues were rectified: Arun Kumar to PTI

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 31, 2022

Specifics concerning the difficulties encountered by the international carriers were not provided.

According to Kumar, the problems observed by overseas operators were akin to those encountered by Indian carriers.

More than a dozen cases of Indian carriers experiencing technical difficulties have recently come to light, particularly in the case of SpiceJet, and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is keeping a careful eye on the situation.

"What most of them (recent incidents of technical snags) required was troubleshooting, replacement of some component say windshield due to outer layer crack, defective valve, high-pressure switch, landing gear uplock, hydraulic accumulator or an engine," Kumar was quoted by PTI in its report.

The regulator has begun a two-month special assessment of airlines to address potential concerns, and has reduced SpiceJet operations, among other steps, in response to an increase in technical snafus.

After being badly impacted by the coronavirus epidemic, the domestic civil aviation industry is on the mend, with more than 6,000 aircraft movements taking place in Indian airspace on a daily basis. If overflying planes are included, the total number of movements exceeds 7,000.

Landings and departures are examples of aircraft movements.

According to the civil aviation ministry, 150 incidents happened on scheduled airline aircraft between April 1 and June 30 this year as a result of component and system breakdown.

From May 2 to July 13, the DGCA conducted a special programme of 353 spot checks.

Emphasising that the aviation sector is "process-driven", Kumar said, "there are hundreds of thousands of components in an aircraft and if one or two components have issues, it does not always mean that there are high risks or the possibility of fatal incidents".

He also stated that it would be unrealistic to believe that an aircraft that flies till it is airworthy and then goes 40-50 thousand hours of flight will not encounter a technical problem.

Following a string of mechanical issues with the carrier's jets, the DGCA instructed SpiceJet to fly only 50% of its flights for eight weeks on July 27 and chose to keep the airline under increased observation.

The next day, SpiceJet released a statement stating that, due to the current lean travel season, the airline, like others, has previously rescheduled its flight operations and that there would be no affect on its flight operations.

Responding to concerns made by some that the DGCA's punishment against SpiceJet was insufficient, Kumar said, "I am not here to shut down airlines. My role is to take measures to ensure safe and efficient flying".

The DGCA chief further stated that, in comparison to many other nations, the fleet of Indian airlines is primarily young. "The focus is always on safety and to ensure that any situation is not allowed to worsen".

The DGCA's safety monitoring procedure comprises surveillance, spot checks, and regulatory audits as part of the yearly surveillance programme.

On July 28, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia informed the Lok Sabha that 478 technical issues had been recorded in the previous year, from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022.

(With Inputs From PTI)