DGCA chief orders a comprehensive safety audit of all Indian carriers

Based on the findings for each operator, the regulator will come out with a corrective action list for them with a time-bound compliance period

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The new Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Arun Mishra has ordered acomprehensive safety audit of all Indian carriers.The process, which will begin this month, is going to examine the entire spectrum of operations.

Based on the findings for each operator, the regulator will come out with a corrective action list forthem with a time-bound compliance period. "We hope to complete the process by next month. It isgoing to be a complete safety review and audit," Mishra, a seasoned aviation administrator, said. 

Special teams will be formed comprising of officials of key operational departments in DGCA like airsafety, training and licensing, flight standards and operations. These teams will then swoop downunannounced at airports to check aircraft and operating crew. The airline's flight operation manual willalso be reviewed as per a TOI report. 

"They will basically check whether an airline is meeting the norms laid out by various civil aviationrequirements (CAR) for different areas in one go. This is different to the regular surveillance as underthat a particular issue like licensing or air safety is checked once a month on a rotational basis. Asafety audit is like a body scan in which everything is examined in one go," said sources. 

The decision to go in for a safety audit and not a financial one reiterates the aviation ministry'sposition that it is now going to interfere in an airline's financial position that is leading to currentissues like non-payment to employees, airport operators, oil companies and vendors. "We cannotinterfere if an airline does not pay salary to employees or others. Our basic idea is to ensure safety does not get compromised and that is what this audit will reveal," said sources. 

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