Over 4,200 posts vacant in DGCA, BCAS, AAI; functioning unaffected: Govt

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As many as 4,291 positions are lying vacant at aviation regulators DGCA and BCAS as well as at state-owned Airports Authority of India but the shortfall has not impacted the functioning of these organisations, the government said on Monday.

Many posts were also created in recent times at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and AAI.

Nearly 50 per cent or 823 sanctioned positions at DGCA are lying vacant while 441 posts, including 426 technical positions, were created between 2022 and 2024, raising the total technical posts at the regulator to 1,063, as per the official data.

In 2024, 84 operational posts were created during restructuring of BCAS, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol told the Rajya Sabha.

At AAI, 840 posts of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) were created recently. Details about the sanctioned posts at BCAS and AAI could not be immediately ascertained.

"Keeping in view the current and future expansion of civil aviation and effective supervision, additional posts have been created in DGCA, BCAS and AAI. The shortfall has not impacted the functioning of these organisations," the minister said in a written reply.

Mohol noted that all methods of recruitment are pursued vigorously in order to ensure timely and continuous availability of requisite manpower.

"Out of 1,063 technical posts, 961 posts are of regular Technical Group A Officers and 102 posts are of Flight Operation Inspectors (FoIs) who are pilots and are hired on contract basis. As on June 2025, 540 technical posts are vacant in DGCA," Mohol said.

According to him, the shortfall has not impacted the surveillance plans which are undertaken regularly as a part of Annual Surveillance Plan published on the website of DGCA.

"The total number of sanctioned positions in DGCA as on date are 1,644, out of which 823 posts are vacant," he said.

In 2025, 14 posts at DGCA and 864 positions at AAI were filled. Also, 5 posts at BCAS were filled on deputation basis.

To meet requirements in the interregnum due to vacancies arising from reasons like inadequate response to advertisements, non-joining of selected candidates, persons with insufficient service in the feeder cadre for promotion, insufficient response to deputation posts, Mohol said efforts are being made to recruit persons through short-term contractual hiring.