“Civil Aviation Policy Is Delhi-Centric; Other Airports Are Neglected”

Captain A. Ranganathan has flown for three domestic airlines and has work experience with four international ones. He represents India at international forums on flight safety. In a conversation with Outlook, he talks about the safety problems impacting airline companies. Excerpts:

Do different aspects of flight safety need upgradation?
Training standards have deteriorated. The regulator and the airlines need to understand that if trainers are bad, the product will be worse. At present, the DGCA safety audit of airlines is not being done regularly and with transparency. Alcoholism among crew should also be brought down, with strict punitive action.

Are airlines cutting corners for commercial benefits?
Definitely. Till 2008, they were doing this blatantly as the DGCA gave waivers. We’re fortunate there were no fatal accidents due to violations of flight duty time limitations. Many contract pilots are violating the rest period rules.

Does the ATC need upgradation to handle the increasing air traffic?
ATC definitely needs upgradation. Unfortunately, the civil aviation policy in India is Delhi-centric. The airports in the rest of the country get stepmotherly treatment. The manpower shortage among controllers is bound to affect safety. They have no duty time limits.
29/05/10 Outlook India.com

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Categories: Air India Budget May 2010, Airports May 2010, NACIL May 2010, Safety May 2010