Mumbai: At least 30 proposals seeking government approval for import of over 90 aircraft have been left unattended for the past few months as there is no system in place to process such applications.
In February this year, the ministry of civil aviation's Aircraft Acquisition Committee was scrapped by the government and the job of granting permission for aircraft imports was entrusted to the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Ironically, the ministry-held committee was disbanded to cut short the time taken to get aircraft import permission. "But with the DGCA yet to form a committee that will review such applications, those who have applied for import permissions like airlines, flying clubs, aircraft charter operators and private individuals have been affected," said an aviation source. A senior official from the ministry of civil aviation said a separate cell, called the Aircraft Acquisition Cell (AAC), will be created in the Air Transport Directorate of the DGCA to handle import permissions.
13/05/13 Manju V/Times of India
