Ground accidents: DGCA calls meet

New Delhi/Hyderabad: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has called an urgent meeting with airlines, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Monday to discuss the problem of overspeeding by bus drivers following Sunday’s accident. The deputy chief minister of Bihar suffered spinal injuries when the bus he was travelling in braked hard, causing him to fall.
A preliminary investigation by the DGCA confirms that it was the fault of the driver. “Once the final report is submitted, suitable action will be taken against him,” a senior DGCA official said.
Airport managers are blaming the rise in air traffic for the rising trend in ground incidents. “It is because of the increase in air movements. Earlier, it was 500 flights a day, now it is more than 650 flights a day,” said a spokesman for DIAL said.
The DGCA official said the airlines and DIAL would have to take some action.
The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) is tightening norms and procedures for airport driving permits (ADPs) to drivers.
The draft ground handling policy slated to be operational from January 1, 2009, provides for just three agencies - Air India, the airport operator and a private agency selected through an open bidding process – to operate airside services at the metro airports. Currently, there are nearly 30 such agencies at Mumbai alone, with some 30,000-plus people gaining entry into the high-security premises.
03/12/07 Yogesh Kumar/Chitti Pantulu/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Airports Dec 2007, Safety Dec 2007