Airline revenue at cost of flier safety? High Court seeks reply

Mumbai: Air passengers’ security compromised for the sake of generating more revenue, air traffic congestion, fuel wastage — the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) were on Thursday asked to reply to the High Court on these allegations.
A division bench of Justice F I Rebello and Justice J H Bhatia gave the direction on a petition by Resources for Aviation Redressal Association. The judges observed that people are charged extra by airlines. “This is the reality of life,” Justice Rebello said.
The petition says fuel is wasted though the authorities are empowered to curtail such wastage, caused due to delays in getting landing clearance. They are also neglecting the alarming rate of air congestion, the petition states.
It adds that that current operational policies of Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) have “minimised and even jeopardized” passengers’ security in the interest of generating more revenue. It cites several recent, near-misses and says airlines operators under the FIA are ignoring safety norms. The counsel for MIAL said the DGCA decides flight slots; MIAL only runs the airport.
29/01/10 Esha Roy/ExpressIndia

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jan 2010, Safety Jan 2010