DGCA to carry out final airline audits this week ahead of US aviation body checks

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will begin a final round of inspections of all Indian airlines this week, ahead of the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) audit of India’s safety oversight, officials told HT.

“Two rounds of inspections, majorly focusing on operations of Air India and Indigo, were conducted in August and September. The final round of inspections however will cover all airlines,” one of the officials aware of the development said.

DGCA to conduct final airline inspections before FAA audit

The inspections will largely focus on the operational and safety standards maintained by the airlines, officials said. A third official said the “special” or “final” inspection would be completed by the end of the month.

“Airlines have been informed about the pre-FAA inspections,” another official said. “Some serious observations were noted in the previous two inspections which were raised with the concerned airlines for them to immediately take the needed action and inform about the same.”

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Serious observations raised with airlines

The observations were not disclosed, but airlines had responded, said people aware of the matter.

The DGCA is also preparing replies to an FAA questionnaire. “The DGCA will also submit a set of questionnaires asked by the FAA. These replies are attached with evidence and will be submitted to the US regulator before their arrival,” an official said.

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DGCA prepares responses to FAA questionnaire

These roughly 200 questions will be answered before FAA arrives in India.

“The DGCA visits different departments within the airlines to ensure that there are no lapses. The process is time-consuming, as inspections at each airline can take several days to complete,” a former airline official said.

FAA’s reassessment of India’s civil aviation safety oversight under its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme is scheduled for November 16 to 20. It examines whether a country’s civil aviation authority complies with safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a specialised agency of the United Nations. India currently holds Category 1 status.

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Category 1 downgrade could restrict US expansion

“In case India were to be downgraded, we would not be able to expand into the US market. There could also be greater scrutiny of the existing flight operations as well. In the previous instance, when India was downgraded, an action plan based on the observations made by the US authorities was made after which the Category 1 status was restored,” former DGCA joint director general JS Rawat said.

A civil aviation ministry official aware of the matter said, “FAA majorly looks as air safety and operations apart from various other aspects. We are confident that India would be able to retain the Category 1 status this year too.”

FAA conducts safety assessments every five years

The FAA routinely assesses the civil aviation authorities of countries whose airlines fly to the US, have applied to fly to the US or have code-share arrangements with US airlines. The reassessment is conducted every five years.

India was last assessed in 2021, when its ICAO effective implementation (EI) score rose from 69.95% to 85.65%, indicating improved compliance with ICAO standards.

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The FAA visit comes as a major overhaul of the regulator has been proposed, with a plan to transform the DGCA into an independent, financially autonomous authority. HT first reported that the DGCA had submitted the proposal to the civil aviation ministry.

The need for such a body “has been a repeated observation made by the FAA in every audit”, an official said, adding that a short, mid and long-term restructuring plan was needed, considering the present and future development of aviation in the country.