Concerns Voiced About Safety Oversight Of India’s Kingfisher

Concerns over the safety oversight of financially struggling Kingfisher Airlines continue, even as the fleet–once 64 aircraft strong–has now shrunk to six A320s and five ATR 72s. The fleet reduction, driven largely by non-payment of leases, comes as a portion of the company’s pilots took strike action on August 18 to protest more than six months of back wages owed them by Kingfisher. On August 27 India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in a seemingly benign action that critics claim was taken to protect the ailing airline, renamed a Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) previously titled, “Assessment of Impact of Financial Stress on Safety of Operations,” to a version removing any reference to an airline’s financial health during safety evaluations.
03/09/12 Robert P. Mark/AIN ONline

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Categories: Kingfisher Sep 2012