Directed DGCA for strict safety audit of airlines, says Prabhu at launch of Airsewa 2.0

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu has ordered the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aviation safety watchdog, to conduct safety audits of all airlines.

He underlined that the central government has "zero-tolerance" policy on safety.

"We have directed DGCA to conduct the strict safety audit of all the airlines. The report of the same comes to our Secretary. In no condition, we will compromise with the safety. It is our policy to have zero tolerance on the safety issue," he emphasised.

At the launch of the Airsewa 2.0, Prabhu touched upon a host of issues including passenger fares, cloud-seeding, the growth of the aviation sector among others.

He endorsed the upgraded version of Airsewa digital platform as an initiative that would further benefit air-travelers in getting their grievances resolved effectively.

"This is a matter of joy for us that keeping in mind the benefits of all the air-travelers, the Aviation Ministry has launched AirSewa 2.0 today. We all know that in India, since last 50 consecutive months there have been over 20 per cent increments in the aviation sector. This makes India probably the only country in the world to have experienced such big growth," said the minister.

In the backdrop of the increase in the number of passengers, he stressed that the facilities rendered should also be increased. "The passenger can have a lot of complaints regarding food, staff or other issues. Hence, in order to resolve these issues at the priority we have launched this upgraded facility and based on the feedback we will also do further improvement," assured Prabhu.

Arisewa digital platform facility is operated through an interactive web platform and mobile application that enables to submit grievances and seek information on air travel in India.

On the permission of cloud seeding being sought from DGCA, it was informed that "whenever a request for any such permission comes we look for safety requirements and permission is granted to those who meet them."

While speaking on the passenger fare increase, Prabhu said that the ministry has issued directions to various airlines to monitor any such complaints received by passengers.

"We have directed airlines to monitor any such complaints if received by passengers. Many airlines in the country and worldwide have experienced a reduction in profit. Considering the welfare of passengers, we have to achieve a balance where the passenger is not unconvinced and there is also growth for airlines," said Prabhu.