DGCA

From pre-employment checks to post-accident screening, here's what India's rules say about pilot drug testing, positive results, rehabilitation, and licence cancellation

DGCA rules prescribe rehabilitation rather than automatic licence suspension for a first positive drug test, though Air India could impose stricter disciplinary action

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said on Tuesday that the number of people injured in the incident had risen to 20, excluding four cabin crew members who were also injured in the turbulence.

Aviation watchdog DGCA recorded 889 serious technical defects in flights compared to 692 such faults in 2024, according to official data. The number of serious defects recorded stood at 487 and 528 in 2023 and 2022, respectively. In 2021, the count was at 514. These figures were shared by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol in the Lok Sabha, as part of a written reply on August 6. The minister was responding to queries by Congress member Shyamkumar Daulat Barve. According to Mohol, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has laid down Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs), safety advisories, directives and other regulatory instructions to ensure safe aircraft operations. "For monitoring compliance, DGCA has a systematic safety oversight mechanism encompassing all aircraft and airport operators. "The safety oversight process includes regulatory audits, night surveillance, ramp inspections, spot checks and special audits. DGCA publishes the Annual Surveillanc

The government on Monday said that 352 significant technical defects were reported in domestic and international flight operations this year till June. Out of the total, 334 significant defects were related to domestic flight operations and the remaining pertained to international services, according to data provided by the civil aviation ministry to the Rajya Sabha. The data was provided by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol in a written reply. As many as 334 defects were related to domestic services and 18 pertained to international flights. The minister did not disclose specific details about the defects. Among the 352 "significant defects" during the given period, 152 pertained to flight operations of Akasa Air, 53 related to Air India Express and 47 pertained to IndiGo flights, the data showed. In the case of Air India and SpiceJet, the number of such defects was 46 and 9, respectively. during their flight operations. As per the data, Star Air reported 29 .

IndiGo's Rahul Bhatia urged the government to review pilot duty time rules, saying they raise airline costs and make Indian aviation less competitive

Aircraft fuel expenses rose 85.7 per cent to ₹10,832.9 crore and accounted for 44.1 per cent of revenue, up from 28.5 per cent in the year-ago quarter

Pilot body cites security risks, but carriers fear a suspension could knock their recovery off course

A trainer aircraft crash-landed at a field in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday, and the trainee lady pilot who was operating the plane is reported to be safe, according to the aviation regulator DGCA. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating the incident. "Chetak Aviation Cessna 152 aircraft VT-AFB engaged in solo flying at Aligarh has crash landed in a field in Kasganj. She (pilot) is reported to be safe," the regulator said in a statement. Further details are awaited.

Even before India's air taxi rules are finalised, hospitals and air ambulance operators are partnering with eVTOL startups to transform emergency care

Air India flight briefly enters Pakistan airspace during go-around at Amritsar, prompting DGCA action against ATC and crew

India's aviation regulator has directed airlines to collect self-declaration forms and monitor Ebola symptoms among passengers travelling from or transiting through Uganda and DRC

The switches, designed to be ‌immovable without actions from pilots, have come under scrutiny since preliminary report found they had been shut off nearly simultaneously, starving the engines of fuel

DGCA officials will oversee inspections of fuel control switches on an Air India Boeing 787-8 at Boeing's US facility after abnormal switch behaviour was reported earlier

The pilots' body further stated that the continued granting of variations to airline operators has significantly diluted the intent of FDTL regulations

CBI said it had acted ‌following a tip-off that Reliance executive and govt official had settled on an amount of ₹15 lakh to process three applications related to drone imports by Asteria Aerospace

The CBI has arrested a deputy director general of civil aviation and the senior vice president of a major corporate group in a Rs 2.5 lakh bribery case to facilitate the import of drones for another private company, officials said Sunday. In an operation on Saturday, the CBI arrested M Devula, Deputy Director General at the Airworthiness Directorate, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Bharat Mathur, who is also associated with an aerospace company involved in drone technology- Asteria Aerospace Ltd. The CBI has booked Mathur, Devula and Asteria Aerospace Ltd under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The major corporate group where Mathur was working is not listed as accused in the FIR and is the "ultimate parent company" of Asteria Aerospace, according to Asteria Aerospace's financial statements for 2024-25. No immediate reaction was available from Asteria Aerospace or the corporate group. The accused DGCA public

Airline regulator DGCA has temporarily relaxed pilot flight duty time limitation (FDTL) for long-haul flights, a senior official said on Tuesday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) move is aimed at ensuring pilot availability for smooth operations, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Asangba Chuba Ao, told reporters during a media briefing.

Air India's CEO Campbell Wilson has reportedly stepped down as the airline deals with financial losses, safety concerns, regulatory scrutiny and flight disruptions linked to the West Asia conflict

The Delhi government's proposed drone policy is likely to focus on creating drone research clusters, establishing dedicated flight testing facilities, enabling the use of drones in traffic management, and providing subsidies to support the drone ecosystem, officials said on Saturday. According to officials, in a recently held meeting, the policy framework was discussed, where plans to rope in the Drone Federation of India (DFI), a leading non- government organisation in this area, were approved. Earlier this year, the government set up a committee under the chairmanship of the IT department secretary to examine the feasibility of the Delhi Drone Policy. "A comprehensive drone policy is being planned to ensure safe and regulated drone operations. Along with this, the government is working on an IT dashboard, a digital monitoring system to provide effective governance," IT minister Pankaj Singh said. According to officials, the policy's key objectives include regulating drone usage t