DGCA Divests its Director of Additional Charge of FSD

New Delhi: In a direct fallout of the IndiGo fiasco, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has divested its Director Operations Ravinder Jamwal of the additional charge of Flight Standards Directorate (FSD) and handed over the charge to another officer.

Jamwal is the first official from the DGCA to be transferred out nearly 20 days after the mass flight cancellations by IndiGo on December 5. The regulator had earlier removed four Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) who were hired on contractual basis from various airlines.

Jamwal, posted as Director of Operations at the DGCA, was holding the charge of Airspace and Air Navigation Services Standards, besides the additional charge of the FSD wing at the DGCA headquarters. At the DGCA, Jamwal was in charge of the FDTL norms that became one of the reasons for massive flight cancellations.

No reason has been given by the DGCA for the action but it is evident that steps were taken in the wake of the IndiGo incident in which Jamwal’s role at FSD was questioned by several aviation experts.

"Ravinder Singh Jamwal, Director of Operations, holding additional charge of Flight Standards Directorate along with existing charge of Airspace and Air Navigation Services Standards, has been posted to Airspace and ANS at the headquarters until further orders," the DGCA said in an order.

He has been replaced with Deputy Director Operation Ashish Dubey, who has been moved from Airspace and Air Navigation Services Standards to FSD.

The transfer came days before the four-member panel that probed the massive flight disruptions at IndiGo earlier this week submitted its report to the aviation regulator, the DGCA. The inquiry committee, headed by DGCA Joint Director General Sanjay K Bramhane, that submitted its report on December 26, was constituted on December 5 to conduct a comprehensive review and assessment of the circumstances that led to the massive flight disruptions.

On December 12, the DGCA had booted out four FOIs over massive disruptions in IndiGo's operations. These FOIs were officials, hired on contractual basis from various airlines, to work the DGCA as part of its regulatory and safety oversight functions, and often deployed to monitor airline operations. These officials ensure aviation safety by inspecting, auditing, and certifying airlines and personnel, such as pilots, dispatchers, and cabin crew, to meet strict regulatory standards, verifying various regulations and overseeing training, flight standards, and accident prevention measures in India.

The FOIs were immediately relieved from DGCA and told to join their respective parent organizations. Sources said these four FOIs have been suspended in connection with the recent large-scale disruptions in IndiGo's flights.