Govt ensuring airlines follow highest safety standards: Prabhu

Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said Saturday that the government is ensuring that all domestic carriers are in "conformity" with the highest safety standards, and the aviation regulator has been directed to carry out their safety audits on a regular basis.

Prabhu's assertion came on a day when reports of a Pratt & Whitney engine of an IndiGo A320 neo plane stopping mid-air surfaced.

"As far as we are concerned, we are ensuring that all Indian carrier must conform to the highest safety standards. I have directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to conduct safety audit of not only all the airlines but also of other organisations on a regular basis," Prabhu said at a media briefing here about the 25th edition of the CII Partnership Summit, to be held in the city from January 13.

An IndiGo Airbus A320neo plane suffered a mid-air engine failure with a "loud bang" on January 3, forcing the aviation ministry to take a serious note of the incident.

Prabhu said that two leading global aviation organisations - Federation Aviation Administration of the USA and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) -- have certified that India's safety apparatus has improved its performance, adding, "the domestic air passenger demand is growing at 20 per cent each month and we are seeing an increased number of passengers (every month)."