NEW DELHI, Sept 9: Nine months after downgrading DGCA in the aviation safety rankings, a Federal Aviation Administration team is likely to visit India soon to review the corrective measures taken by the Indian aviation regulator to meet the deficiencies listed by its US counterpart.
“We would like India to be Category-I as soon as possible. We invited them (FAA) to visit DGCA for a review in September or October, when our team went to the US and made a presentation to them last month,” Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju told reporters here.
He said the FAA team would be visiting India and “I am sure India will return to Category-I.”
FAA had conducted two safety audits last year in India and downgraded India’s aviation safety ranking to Category-II from the top category as it found deficiencies in over 30 counts. These included lack of technical manpower like flight inspectors, a large number of whom have now been recruited.
To a question on DGCA serving showcause notices to 131 pilots of Jet Airways for not clearing necessary checks, he said “there can be no compromise on safety… DGCA is expected to act according to the law and they are doing it… It will definitely act as per the law.”
Asked about aviation bodies Air India, AAI and AERA “remaining headless”, Raju said “we don’t intend to keep any organisation headless. We are taking care that the work does not suffer. But there is a procedure through which such vacancies are filled up and that is being followed.”
While Air India CMD Rohit Nandan is on a three-month extension that ends in October, the post of AAI Chairman is being occupied by its Board member S Raheja till a full-time chief is appointed.
Regarding Air India’s financial position, Raju said the state-run airline had shown “major improvements” in its load factors and yields.
Government has released Rs 3,833 crore in the first quarter of 2014-15 against the total allocation of Rs 6,600 crore for the entire financial year, he said. (PTI)
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