Facing shortage, DGCA to take in safety inspectors from Airports Authority of India on deputation

Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 21

To meet the shortfall of specialized staff required for carrying out safety oversight functions in the civil aviation sector, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to employ additional inspectors from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on a secondment basis.

DGCA is responsible for ensuring that Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) services and Air Traffic Management (ATM) services provided by the AAI are following the specified Civil Aviation Requirements.

For this DGCA carries out regular surveillance and audits.

“The Air Space and Air Navigation Services Standards Directorate in DGCA, which is presently assigned this responsibility, is not adequately staffed to carry out the desired level of oversight functions,” a memorandum issued by the DGCA this month states.

“In order to augment the specialized manpower, it has been decided, as an interim measure, to utilize the services of the trained manpower available with the Airports Authority of India for the purpose of carrying out the oversight functions in an effective manner,” the memorandum adds.

The additional manpower will also assist DGCA in the preparation of guidelines, checklists and other associated work.

DGCA is a regulatory body primarily dealing with the enforcement of regulations and safety issues in the field of civil aviation.

It is responsible for the regulation of air transport services to, from and within India.

AAI, on the other hand, is responsible for creating, maintaining, controlling and upgrading the civil aviation infrastructure in India.

It manages 137 airports across the country and provides ATM services over the entire Indian air space and adjoining oceanic areas.

Both the organisations function under the aegis of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Oversight functions for CNS are required in the field of commissioning equipment, periodic inspection of aeronautical telecommunication stations to ensure performance and maintenance scrutiny and processing of telecommunication and safety management manuals and assistance in the formulation and certification of regulations and guidance material.

The field of ATM involves matters relating to notification of airspace, temporary closure of airspace, the promulgation of navigational procedures, approval of maps and aeronautical charts, certification of ATM systems. Matters relating to licensing of air traffic controllers and associated examinations are also included.