DGCA Audits Flag Serious Findings At Four Indian Airlines
IndiGo, Air India, Akasa Air And SpiceJet Asked To Respond To Safety Audit Observations
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has reported “serious findings” during safety audits of IndiGo, Air India, Akasa Air and SpiceJet ahead of a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) assessment of India’s aviation regulator, people aware of the matter said on Tuesday.
The DGCA completed the safety audits in August, ahead of a five-member FAA team’s scheduled visit to India from November 16 to 20. The exact nature of the observations has not been disclosed, but serious findings were reported at major airlines during the exercise.
The concerned airlines are expected to submit their responses to the DGCA, which will examine the submissions. Action may be initiated if the responses are found unsatisfactory.
Under the DGCA’s audit framework, Level-1 findings relate to serious non-compliance and require immediate corrective action, while Level-2 findings concern less serious deficiencies that must be addressed within a prescribed timeframe.
The development comes amid separate scrutiny involving the DGCA and the Drone Federation India (DFI). An inspection report by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) recorded allegations that DFI submitted a purported DGCA No-Objection Certificate (NOC) during an application to change its name.
According to the report, the DGCA informed the MCA that the NOC was not genuine and that the file number mentioned in it did not exist in its records. The report also said the signature was attributed to an officer who had retired before the date shown on the document.
The MCA inspection officer recommended penal action against three DFI directors and company secretary Anoop Kumar Pandey under Sections 448 read with 447 of the Companies Act.
However, a subsequent prosecution before the 37th Court, Fort, Mumbai, proceeded under Sections 134(8), 129(7) and 128(6), without invoking Sections 448 and 447 in relation to the alleged NOC.
The discrepancy has been raised in a CVC complaint alleging that officials failed to act on the relevant inspection findings. The allegations have not been established.
DFI president Smit Shah denied wrongdoing, saying the matter is sub judice and that the organisation’s legal team is examining it.
