Passenger safety on legal radar

Mumbai: The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is working on the finer details of a new set of guidelines that will empower it to levy hefty fines, detain aircraft within Indian territory or impose imprisonment of three years on airline officials who violate aviation safety norms. Till now, all that the agency could do was impose a petty fine or issue a memo to the carrier concerned.
The change is coming in through an amendment to the Indian Aircraft Act, 1934. Expected to come into force in a couple of months from now, it is likely to change the way the Indian aviation industry functions.
The amendment will give DGCA the right to detain planes for violations within Indian airspace and in some cases, if required, call for up to three years of imprisonment for the officials involved. The DGCA till now could only cancel licences of erring pilots, aircraft engineers and cabin crew or dash off a strong note. Even the fines levied are negligible.
The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2006, was tabled by civil aviation minister Praful Patel before Parliament two weeks ago and cleared unanimously.
While it is expected to make airlines more accountable, the amendment will also offer ‘protection’ to the carriers by giving them the right to appeal against a certain decision.
26/09/07 Manju V/Times of India

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Categories: General Aviation Sep 2007, Safety Sep 2007