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Air Safety in India has improved and the country has complied with a majority of International Civil Aviation Organisation's safety recommendations, civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said today.
Last year ICAO carried out a review of Directorate General of Civil Aviation safety oversight procedures. Singh said his ministry had not received the report and there was only a verbal discussion between DGCA and ICAO about its contents.
Singh said it was incorrect to club India with African nations on matters of air safety when number of non complied measures had decreased. He said the average non compliance in Asia-Pacific countries is higher than India.
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"There is no compromise with regard to safety. We are second to none in safety," he added.
Rs 5 'trip' levy to fund CAA
Passengers will have to pay Rs 5 on every air trip and levy will be used to fund the Civil Aviation Authority.
In its 2006 audit ICAO had faulted staff shortage in DGCA and said this was a serious concern.
The authority will have operational and financial autonomy as well as recruitment powers and Rs 5 charge will be collected from passengers for its creation.
