Airlines feel the pinch as expat pilots' scrutiny gets tougher

Mumbai: Getting a Foreign Aircrew Temporary Authorisation (FATA), the mandatory stamp of approval the expatriate pilots need from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to work in Indian carriers, was easy all these years.
After the Mangalore air crash though, the licences and medical files of foreign pilots are being put through much scrutiny by the DGCA.
Air India Express learnt it the hard way when FATA approval of 33 expatriate commanders expired on July 30 and could not be renewed on time. For want of cockpit crew, Indian Airlines aircraft, pilots and flight attendants have been operating some of Air India Express flights since August 1. With about 384 expatriate pilots employed with the country's carriers, there could be similar crisis in store for other airlines.
Air India Express, which operates a fleet of 21 B 737 aircraft employs 130 commanders (out of which 47 are expatriates) apart from 124 Indian co-pilots, according to the airline spokesperson. With 33 commanders grounded, the airline's aircraft utilisation has gone down as B737s are being scheduled for lesser flights.
Initially, AI Express was confident of getting the documents of its 33 commanders in place by August 4, then the deadline was moved to August 7, August 11 and now finally the IC operations department has been told they would need to help out till August 14.
14/08/10 Manju V/Times of India

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Categories: Foreign Aug 2010, Indian Aviation- In General Aug 2010