Downgrade fears makes govt beef up DGCA

New Delhi: The fear of a possible downgrade by the American Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has finally forced India to strengthen its effete aviation regulatory mechanism. In the biggest ever single clearance of technical posts for the ill-staffed Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the government has sanctioned nearly 700 positions in one go.
And, to top it all, a four-month study by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is going to kick off soon, which will give a road map for transformation of DGCA into a full-fledged autonomous civil aviation authority. All these initiatives come just before the crucial visit by FAA officials, either in last week of June or early July.
The American regulators visited India on an on-site reassessment two months ago following fears expressed by international agencies that India had not strengthened its regulatory mechanism in proportion to the explosive growth in numbers of domestic airlines and flights.
13/05/09 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General May 2009