Parliamentary Standing Committee Recommendations on Aviation Safety
A parliamentary committee has made several recommendations to address pressing issues in India's aviation safety sector. These focus on granting autonomy and addressing personnel shortages.
Granting Autonomy to DGCA
- The committee recommends granting full financial and administrative autonomy to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
- Lack of autonomy is cited as the single greatest impediment to the DGCA's effectiveness.
- This autonomy is deemed essential to attract talent, set competitive salaries, and enforce compliance in the expanding aviation sector.
- Despite a sanctioned strength of 1,063 posts, only 553 are filled, signifying a nearly 50% manpower shortfall.
Staffing and Fatigue Issues
- The report highlights a shortage of air traffic controllers (ATCOs), describing it as a threat to public safety.
- Criticism is directed at the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for not adhering to duty time limitations for ATCOs.
- Recommendation for a national Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) and a comprehensive staffing audit.
- 1,600 ATCO posts have been created recently, yet workload issues persist.
Systemic Recommendations
- Mandating root-cause analysis for runway incursions and recurring high-risk events.
- Establishing remedial programs due to persistent safety target exceedances.
- Calls for a uniform national regulatory framework for state-operated helicopter services.
- Mandatory terrain-specific pilot training is suggested due to recent helicopter accidents.