Page 24 - Dgca

Air India must uplift safety culture to highest levels: CEO Campbell Wilson

The requirements and expectations with respect to safety are clear, and training and advice are readily available, he mentioned

Resignations have no impact on expansion, more pilots joining: Akasa CEO

Promoted by family of the late investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Akasa is planning to add more aircraft to its fleet and take it to 28 by March 2024 and add 10-12 planes every year for the next few years

DGCA suspends Air India's chief of flight safety, alleges lapses

Regulator takes action against Rajeev Gupta after two major safety violations at the airline in the last couple of months

DGCA implements watch duty time limitation for air traffic controllers

In a "significant" move, aviation watchdog DGCA on Thursday said regulations for watch duty time limitations and rest requirements for air traffic controllers have been implemented at 57 airports, including Amritsar, Coimbatore, Patna and Imphal. The implementation of the norms will ensure that air traffic controllers will get adequate rest while carrying out their duties. The regulations regarding 'Watch Duty Time Limitation (WDTL) and rest requirements for Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs)' are being implemented at the 57 airports from Thursday, DGCA said in a release. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the norms are modelled on ICAO regulations and based on the country's national, social and cultural contexts, coupled with scientifically valid, optimal duty time limit for ATCOs. ICAO is the International Civil Aviation Organisation. "This is a significant reform in the civil aviation sector and will provide adequate rest to ATCOs while engaging in the

DGCA is issuing pilot licenses within indicative timeline, MoCA clarifies

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Wednesday said the DGCA is meeting the indicative timelines for the issuance of pilot licences despite an increase in the number of applications. "It is clarified that the application processing time may vary depending upon the complexity and completeness of the application submitted. The indicative timelines published for Issue & Conversion of Commercial Pilot License (CPL) by DGCA is 20 & 30 working days respectively," it said in a statement. According to the ministry, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been meeting the indicative timelines despite an increase in number of applications. "Average timelines achieved for applications during 2023 for CPL Issue & Conversion is 22 and 31 working days". The total number of CPLs issued in 2022 was the highest in the last decade and this number has already been surpassed in September 2023, it added. Further, the statement said the number of CPLs issued is likely to be the ...

DGCA suspends approval of AI's flight safety chief for a month for lapses

Aviation watchdog DGCA on Thursday said it has suspended the approval of Air India's Flight Safety Chief for one month for certain lapses. On July 25 and 26, the regulator's team carried out the surveillance of Air India in the areas of internal audit, accident prevention work and availability of required technical manpower. The surveillance found deficiencies in the accident prevention work carried out by the organisation and the availability of the requisite technical man power as required in the approved Flight Safety Manual and the relevant Civil Aviation Requirements, DGCA said in a release. "The approval of Chief of Flight Safety of Air India has been suspended for a period of one month for the lapses established," it said.

Akasa Air moves court for action against pilots not serving notice period

The fledgling Akasa Air has approached the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the DGCA to take action against pilots who left the airline without serving the mandatory notice period. The airline, which operated its first commercial flight between Mumbai and Ahmedabad on August 7, 2022, has hit turbulence following the resignation of several pilots. It told the court it will have to cancel a large number of flights in September due to the resignations. The airline told Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora the company was in a "state of crisis" because of these resignations and had to cancel multiple flights every day this month. The court has asked the parties to file their written synopsis in the matter and listed it for further hearing on September 22. The court also sought to know from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), represented by advocate Anjana Gosain, as to what action it takes in case flights have to be cancelled due to pilots' resignation. The airline

Staff shortage at DGCA delaying issuance of trained pilot licences

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is taking at least a couple of months to issue licences to trained pilots as the regulator is grappling with the shortage of staff at key positions, according to sources. After training, individuals need to obtain a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) to be eligible to fly commercial flights. Sources in the civil aviation ministry said that at present, a pilot has to wait for a couple of months to get his or her licence and the pendency time is likely to go up in the coming months. "The Directorate of Training and Licensing (DTL), under the Operations Department which deals with licensing, has a total of 129 sanctioned posts of assistant directors. Of those, 92 posts or almost 72 per cent of the total strength are lying vacant," one of the sources said. Till July 2022, the DGCA had only 72 sanctioned posts of assistant directors. In August 2022, the ministry created 57 new posts and the sanctioned strength rose to 129 positions. "However

33 pilots, 97 cabin-crew members found drunk on duty in H1 of 2023: DGCA

According to DGCA rules, pilots and cabin crew members must undergo pre-flight breathalyzer tests

Pilot shortage pulls down Akasa Air's market share to 4.2% in August

IndiGo maintained its lead as the country's largest airline with its market share pegged at 63.3 per cent in August

Private jet veers off runway in Mumbai causing more than 100 flight delays

The runway was closed for almost two hours and reopened after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation gave clearance following safety checks, a representative for the airport said

DGCA takes up matters with P&W regarding problems in IndiGo plane engines

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken up the matter with Pratt and Whitney (P & W) regarding the three incidents of engine failure in IndiGo flights in quick succession leading to In-flight Shut down (IFSD) demanding Original equipment manufacturer (OEMs) urgent intervention of the highest level for suitable mitigation.The matter was taken up with Pratt & Whitney (P & W) on September 1. DGCA said that IndiGo A-321 neo aircraft VT-IUJ, while on a flight from Madurai to Mumbai was involved in an incident of a commanded In-flight Shut down (IFSD) on 29/08/2023, wherein the crew observed high vibration and Low oil pressure on one engine, followed by engine stall."Upon landing at Mumbai airport, Metallic chips were found on the oil chip detector. On the same day, in a similar incident, IndiGo A-321 neo aircraft VT-IUF, while on a flight from Kolkatta to Bangalore was involved in a commanded IFSD, wherein similar observations were made by the crew on the .

Domestic air traffic rises 22.8% to 1.24 crore in August, says DGCA

Domestic air passenger traffic rose 22.81 per cent to 1.24 crore in August this year as against 1.01 crore in the year-ago period, according to DGCA data released on Thursday. Budget carrier IndiGo flew 78.67 lakh passengers and accounted for 63.3 per cent of the total domestic passenger volume during the month, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said. Air India, now owned by the Tata Group, and its wholly-owned subsidiary AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India), transported 12.12 lakh and 9.78 lakh passengers, respectively, during August, DGCA said. During the month, Air India's market share was 9.8 per cent while that of AIX Connect was 7.1 per cent. Vistara -- a 51:49 joint venture airline between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines that and is in the process of getting merged with Air India -- flew 12.17 lakh passengers with a market share of 9.8 per cent, DGCA said. The three airlines -- Air India, Vistara and AirAsia India -- together flew a total of 33.07 lakh ...

DGCA permits IndiGo to wet lease 11 Airbus A320 neo family aircraft

Last month, a DGCA official revealed that the aviation regulator was conducting an extensive investigation into two separate incidents involving PW engine malfunctions on IndiGo flights

IndiGo gets regulatory approval to wet-lease 11 A320 aircraft: Report

This comes amid IndiGo grounding nearly 40 planes due to a Pratt & Whitney engine issue, the report said

Top headlines: RIL pushes battery unit timeline to 2026, PM signs off G20

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

Need clear chain of command to handle safety, DGCA tells Air India

The DGCA told the airline to remove this confusion so that there is a clear line of communication between the regulator, accountable manager and chief of flight safety

Air India gets conditional approval from DGCA to restart simulator

As a result, Air India submitted the necessary paperwork, which included newly developed SOPs for preventive maintenance checks and a quality manual for the simulators, to the DGCA

DGCA gives conditional nod to A-I for simulator training at facilities

Aviation regulator DGCA has given a conditional approval to Air India for simulator training of pilots at the airline's facilities in Hyderabad and Mumbai after certain deficiencies were rectified, according to officials. Last month, the watchdog had temporarily suspended simulator training activities at the two facilities due to certain lapses. A senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday said a conditional approval has been given for 30 days after the deficiencies were rectified. "An internal audit is to be conducted within the 30-day period, and after the review, the findings are to be shared with DGCA," the official said and added that the training had remained suspended for 10 days. There was no comment from Air India. An Air India official said training has resumed at the Hyderabad facility and the training at the Mumbai facility will begin once the next batch is ready. The Hyderabad facility provides simulator training for pilots of ...

Air India to induct two A350 planes this year that have received DGCA

Air India will induct two A350 aircraft this year for which it has received DGCA approval and expects to have six such planes in its fleet by the end of March 2024, according to officials. Steered by the Tata Group, the loss-making Air India is expanding its fleet as well as operations. In February, the carrier placed an order for 470 aircraft, including 40 A350-900/1000 planes. The officials in the know said, Air India has received the Letter of Type Acceptance (LoTA) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for inducting two A350 aircraft -- A350-900 and A350-1000. Both planes will be powered by Rolls Royce engines. An official at the airline said it will be inducting the two wide body aircraft this year. By the end of March next year, Air India expects to have a total of six A350 planes, the official added. Currently, Air India, which was taken over by the Tata Group from the government in January last year, has a fleet of 126 planes. This includes 52 wide body Bo