Cracking the Whip

Minister of Civil Aviation Ajit Singh has said that the government will not tolerate any violation of safety norms and there will be no compromise on air safety. It is yet to be seen whether the DGCA is equipped and capable of arresting the downslide.

A report on the financial audit by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of the airlines in India submitted at the end of December 2011 indicates that overall the airlines are “sick” and requires urgent and drastic action to redeem the situation. Conducted at the behest of the Safety Advisory Council of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, audit by the DGCA highlights the fact that the financial distress amongst some of the airlines is so acute that it could have serious ramifications for air safety. As per the DGCA, the situation particularly in the case of Air India Express (AIE) and Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) was serious enough to warrant cancellation of their airline operator permit. Apart from AIE and KFA, the report has brought out issues with all the other Indian carriers as well. IndiGo, Spice-Jet, Jet Airways, GoAir, Alliance Air and JetLite have been guilty of concealing incidents, are short of commanders, suffer from lack of proper training, there is absence of qualified safety officials and there is non-compliance of safety audits. Management of the airlines were summoned by the DGCA to be briefed on the audit report and have been directed to submit their plans for remedial action, indicating clear timelines for implementation.

Incidentally, this is not the first time that such an audit has been carried out by the DGCA. In 2009, under circumstances of economic downturn and worsening financial health of airlines, the DGCA carried out a survey of airlines through a questionnaire designed to assess the extent of their financial plight and the possible impact on air safety. An intrusive follow-up inspection also revealed about 3,000 violations. Concerned about the state of affairs and the impact of reckless expansion in the preceding years on the capability of airlines to ensure quality and in turn air safety, the government made a vain attempt to apply brakes on their plans to acquire more aircraft especially by those carriers who were financially severely strained. But growth of the airline industry in India largely driven by the global aerospace majors, continued unabated with airlines placing large orders. While Air India had already placed orders for 111 aircraft, a mix of Boeing and Airbus, IndiGo was ahead in the race booking a single order for a staggering 180 Airbus aircraft. Meanwhile, cumulative losses continued to mount aggravating the financial distress for all the airlines. Grossly understaffed, the DGCA was clearly not in a position to sustain effective follow up.

The situation in respect of the non-scheduled operator’s permit (NSOP) holders as also business and general aviation segments was hardly any better. Driven by healthy economic growth prior to 2009, these sectors also expanded rapidly with consequent dilution in quality, performance and safety standards. The NSOPs that began to emerge on the scene in 2005, were subjected to thorough inspection before issue of licence but thereafter, have not generally been exposed to surprise or periodical audits as frequently as they are expected to be to gauge their operating and safety standards. High profile accidents such as those involving Y.S.R. Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Dorjee Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, were manifestations of the malaise. The DGCA has now been confronted with allegations of illegal operation of foreign registered business jets in India by corporate houses and high net-worth individuals thereby causing substantial loss to the exchequer by way of evasion of customs duty. The issue has been handed over to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for investigation.