For better enforcement of air safety standards, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will soon be empowered to penalise airlines and airports for various offences and non-compliance of air regulations.
Under the present rules, the DGCA is authorised to either suspend the operations of airlines or airports or take away their licence, but has no powers to impose fines or penalties.
“Generally, we are not able to take any action because we don’t want to take extreme steps such as suspending the operations as it also affects customers. Currently, we have to file a case in the court to take any action against the operators even for small violations,” said a senior DGCA official, on condition of anonymity.
The Civil Aviation Ministry will soon send a proposal to amend the Aircraft Act, 1937, to the Law Ministry, to empower the DGCA to impose fines for violations under the Act.
The violations include operating aircraft without the specified minimum crew, flying without a valid pilot licence or medical fitness, not maintaining records, fraudulent entry in logbooks and not maintaining airports.
“Many of the violations can be easily controlled. The DGCA can levy a fine immediately which the operator will have to pay,” a Civil Aviation Ministry official said.
However, the DGCA will not impose a fine on airlines on commercial matters, the official said. “It’s a matter between the consumer and airlines. We have set standards through various civil aviation requirement regulations,” the official said.
The DGCA may be empowered to fill vacancies on deputation or promote its employees without getting the consent of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
The Union Civil Aviation Ministry is expected to take up the proposal with the Department of Personnel and Training soon, officials said.
The DGCA will be given full financial autonomy, enabling it to spend money without taking the consent of the Civil Aviation Ministry, through a notification, the DGCA official said.
However, a few people associated with the aviation sector feel there is still a long way to go in giving the regulator more teeth.
“The DGCA needs a complete overhaul before being converted into an operationally and financially independent civil aviation authority.
“It is perceived by many as old-fashioned, inward-looking and arrogant. It is non-transparent and many decisions are based on individual discretion,” said Amber Dubey, partner and India head of aerospace and defence at the global consultancy KPMG.
He said that to begin with, the head of the DGCA should be a political appointee with proven knowledge of aviation and should be given at least a three-year term, instead of appointing an IAS officer for a short tenure of six to 12 months. “At the moment, the Act under which the DGCA is constituted has no power to levy penalty on airlines. However, it [not following regulations] becomes a violation of the air operator’s permit and gives a legal base to the consumer to go to the consumer court and say that there is deficiency in service,” Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey said at a recent event.
