Pilots boycott Calcutta-Silchar Air India flight

Calcutta: The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) has boycotted the Calcutta-Silchar operation of Air-India as there was no test flight of the new A320 aircraft.
The pilots alleged that Air-India had violated the norms of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) by introducing a new aircraft on a hilly terrain on Monday without conducting a test flight.
The A320 aircraft was introduced in the Northeast sector replacing Boeing planes.
“Before introducing a new aircraft to airfields surrounded by hilly terrain, tests are mandatory. The Standard Operating Procedures is prepared on the basis of that,” said a spokesperson of the ICPA (eastern region).
One of the key tests, according to pilots, is “proving flight operation”. This means, a test flight without passengers with only experienced pilots and experts on board.
With the pilots refusing to fly, the inaugural flight was operated by a senior official, who is a pilot.
Civil aviation ministry sources said the airline had conducted proving flight operation at Port Blair when the Airbus was introduced there in 2004.
05/09/07 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

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Categories: Air India Domestic Sep 2007, NACL Sep 2007, Safety Sep 2007