International flights must carry defibrillators: DGCA

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has diluted its own regulations about medical provisions on board planes.
Earlier rules said that all flights carrying more than 30 passengers should have a defibrillator.
According to a new proposal, airlines will have to carry automatic external defibrillator on all international flights, but will have the option of doing so on domestic sectors.
Defibrillator are devices which administer electric shocks of low voltage to the heart to restore its normal rhythm.
“In the US, defibrillator are carried on all flights. The DGCA had proposed in 2001 that they should be provided on all flights by 2004, but airlines resisted this because of the cost factor,” an airline source said. A defibrillator costs about Rs 1 lakh.
25/07/10 Mumbai Mirror

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jul 2010