India succesfully addresses ICAO's safety concerns

by BA Staff

The Press Information Bureau, Government of India reports, The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) validation team submitted its report and recommendations to ICAO headquarters for the review by the ICAO SSC Validation Committee. ICAO has conveyed that corrective action taken by India have successfully addressed and resolved two Significant Safety Concerns (SSC) relating to airworthiness and operations. Consequent to this decision, the Safety Concerns have been resolved and India no longer figures amongst the States with SSC on the ICAO website.

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), during the ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission of India in December 2012, had identified two Significant Safety Concerns (SSC) relating to airworthiness and operations. The concern on airworthiness related to approval of major modifications and repairs carried out on foreign manufactured aircraft and registered in India while the concern on operations related to the procedure for grant of Air Operator Permit to non-scheduled operators and flight documentation system of scheduled airlines.

DGCA prepared a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) in January, 2013 to address the concerns and submitted the same to ICAO for their acceptance. On acceptance by ICAO, DGCA initiated action to implement the CAP to address both the Safety Concerns. Regular updates were provided to ICAO on the progress made on CAP implementation.

In June 2013, on completing substantial work, DGCA requested ICAO to send a Validation Team to assess the implementation of the CAP for resolving the SSC. A three member ICAO Team visited India from 19th to 23rd August, 2013 for the validation of the CAP implementation. During the visit, the team examined all documentary evidences at DGCA Headquarters and Regional Offices at Delhi and Mumbai. As part of the Validation process, the team also visited organizations to ascertain the safety oversight capability of DGCA with respect to implementation of CAP.

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Official highlights of 2011 by the Ministry of Civil Aviation

This is the official take of the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation on highlights of 2011.

Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) signed with USA
India has signed Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with United States on 18th July, 2011. This agreement provides for mutual certification of aeronautical products. It recognizes the mutual benefit of improved procedures for the reciprocal acceptance of airworthiness approvals and environmental testing, and the development of reciprocal recognition procedures for approval and monitoring of flight simulation training devices, aircraft maintenance facilities, maintenance personnel, flight crew members and flight operations. An Implementation Procedure for Airworthiness (IPA) was also signed in November, 2011.

India-US Aviation Summit
An India-US Aviation Summit was held in New Delhi from the 16th to the 18th of November 2011 in cooperation with the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The summit continued with the commitment of the United States and India to advance cooperation in the aviation sector. It focused on technical, policy and commercial elements in the sector, including infrastructure development, air traffic management, air traffic control, aviation security, general aviation and airspace utilization throughout India.

Amendments of Air Services Agreements (ASAs) with foreign countries
Keeping in view the recent developments in the Civil Aviation Sector and with a view to modernize and update the existing Air Services Agreements (ASAs) with foreign countries as per the ICAO templates, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has signed ASAs with Indonesia and Brazil and ASAs initialed with Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Mozambique, Uganda, Trinidad and Tobago.

European Union Emission Trading System (EU-ETS)

An international meeting of ICAO council and other Non-EU member states was held in New Delhi on 29th – 30th September to discuss the inclusion of aviation in the European Union Emission Trading System (EU-ETS). Discussions included legal objection to EUETs, Policy objections, the role of ICAO-the way forward and discussions on next steps.

27 countries including India participated: Argentine Republic, Brazil, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and United States of America. It was attended by over 70 delegates.

A Joint Declaration was negotiated and adopted at New Delhi on 30th September, 2011 opposing the scheme.India thereafter took the lead to co-present a Working Paper (WP), in ICAO Council which included the Joint Declaration. This was adopted in the 194th Council Session of ICAO meeting held on 2nd November, 2011.

India-ICAN conference, 2011

The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil inaugurated the 4th ICAO Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) Conference held in Mumbai from 17-22 October, 2011. ICAN has been conceptualized by ICAO as ‘One-Stop-Shop’ for bilateral negotiation process.

A special Africa session was also held on the inaugural day which included participants from the African Union, ICAO, Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The Conference was attended by 64 states and 04 Regional Bodies. During the conference, more than 370 bilateral meetings were held between air services negotiators from states in all regions of the world which led to the signing of over 120 agreements and arrangements. India met with 37 countries and signed MoUs/agreed minutes with 22 countries.

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA)

• In the Flying Calendar Year Jan – Dec 2011, approximately 17000 hours have been completed and a total number of 80 CPL holders graduated in the current year.
• DA 42 Aircraft and one DA 42 Simulator have been inducted for multi engine training.
• 125 aspiring cadets have been selected to undergo training for the next year at IGRUA.
• Considering the need for skilled manpower by the growing civil aviation industry in the country a proposal for upgradating (sic) IGRUA to a national Aviation University, is being considered.
• A proposal for the Airports Authority of India to take over Fursatganj Airfield, with a view to extend the runaway and convert it into a Civil Airport, along with a Cargo Hub and Maintenance Repair Organization Center, is under consideration.
• To supplement the demand for skilled technical manpower is proposed to start an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer training school at IGRUA.

Editor's Note: Why a commission for railways is under the civil aviation ministry is beyond our understanding.
Commission of Railway Safety performs its duty under rules framed under Indian Railways Act, 1989. In year 2011 (from Jan to Nov) CRS inquired into the 04 cases of collision, 07 cases of derailment, 06 cases of level crossing and 07 cases of unusual incidents. Besides that 473.959 KM new railway lines has been inspected by the CRS.

Air India Ltd.

• Air India has extended the offer of discounted fares in full fare economy class to para-military forces. Earlier similiar discounts was provided to Armed forces personnel and their family members.
• Air India has also decided to honour the children who are recipients of National Bravery Award 2010 by offering free tickets for their travel on domestic network along-with their parents/Guardians.
• Air Chief Marshal Fali H. Major (retd.) was appointed as non-official part–time Director on the Board of Air India Charters Limited for a period of 3 years with effect from 10th May 2011.

Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd.
The main objectives of PHHL are to provide helicopter support services to meet the requirement of oil sector, conduct operations in hilly and remote terrain, connecting inaccessible areas and providing charters for promotion of travel and tourism. Besides the above, the company has recently added the objectives of setting up of Heliports, helipads, Training Institute and Safety Institute. PHHL has emerged as one of Asia’s largest helicopter operators having a well-balanced own operational fleet of 42 helicopters at present.

• The paid up share capital of the Company has been increased from Rs. 113.766 crores to Rs. 245.616 crores.
• In 2010-11 the company achieved record revenue hours of 32175 as compared to 29890 in 2009-10.
• Highest ever operating revenue of Rs. 423.96 in 2010-11 as compared to Rs. 384.04 crores in 2009-10 has been achieved.
• As on 31.03.2011 the Company had operation & maintenance contract of 01 Dauphin N3 helicopter of Government of Gujarat, 2 Dhruv helicopters owned by ONGC and 4 Dhruv helicopters owned by BSF (MHA). Further, the company has signed in December 2010 another contract with HAL for operation & maintenance of 4 more Dhruv helicopters of BSF. The Company has provided one Dhruv helicopter taken on lease from HAL to Government of Maharashtra for Anti-Naxal activities at Gadcharoli, Maharashtra.
• At present 16 Dauphin N & N3 helicopters are on contract with ONGC out of which 2 Dauphins are stationed overnight at the main platforms in addition to a dedicated Night Ambulance to meet any emergency evacuation.

Important Policy Decisions Taken during the year 2011

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in the meeting held on 29.03.2011 approved a proposal of AAI for a one-time grant-in-aid of Rs. 378.00 crore for final operational phase of a GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) project over Indian Air Space subject to certain conditions.
• A seminar on operation of Seaplanes in India was organized by Ministry of Civil Aviation, DGCA and PHHL on 22.04.2011.
• A New Transfer Policy has been implemented by Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The new regional offices of BCAS will now be opened at Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Guwahati and Amritsar and will be manned by the BCAS officers.
• In order to streamline and facilitate the Public service delivery systems of Ministry of Civil Aviation and its organizations it has been decided to constitute a Task Force to consider modalities of introduction of a “Single Window Public Service Delivery System”
• Ministry of Civil Aviation is the nodal Ministry for arranging to Haj Air Charter Flights to carry Haj pilgrims selected by Haj Committee of India. For the Haj Operation 2011, Ministry has selected two airlines viz. Saudi Arabia Airlines and NAS Air through competitive bid system from eligible airlines. A total of 875 flights were operated to carry 1,25,000 Haj pilgrims from 21 embarkation points in India. The whole Haj operation was completed on scheduled with almost 99% flights operated on day by schedule.
• The Bay of Bengal Arabian Sea India Ocean Safety Monitoring Agency (BOBASMA) has been endorsed as a competent Air Space Safety Monitoring Agency by the Regional Air Space Safety Monitoring Advisory Group, ICAO. The Enroute Monitoring Agency is presently monitoring PBN compliance and assessing the level of safety in horizontal plane.
• The Air Traffic Management (ATM) Contingency Plan for Indian Flight Information Regions (FIRs) have been updated to included revised route structure for safe and orderly flow of international traffic through upper Indian Air Space in case of disruption of Air Traffic Services.
• Installation of Air Traffic Services (ATS) automation system has been completed at Mangalore
• On the airports side the revised charges for handling Non Scheduled Operators (NSOs) at airports which were not within the ambit of Airports Economic Regulatory Authority, has been implemented with immediate effect.
• With regard to major airports, the Airports Authority of India (Major Airports) Development Fee Rules, 2011 have been notified on 02.08.2011 in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (ii) of section 22A read with clause (ee) of sub-section (2) of section 41 of the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994 (55 of 1994)
• With regard to perceived security threats from the surrounding areas of IGI Airport including the hospitality area (Aerocity), a Committee has been constituted by BCAS consisting of representatives from CISF, MCA, MHA, R&AW, ARC, Delhi Police and AAI under the Chairmanship of Jt. Commissioner of Security (CA).
• Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) dated 11th August 2011 regarding Flight and Duty Time Limitations and Rest Requirements of Flight crew engaged in scheduled/non-scheduled air transport operations and general aviation aeroplanes operations has been issued. The CAR is based on the report of the Committee formed by the Government to review the flight duty and time limitations of flight crew.
• Minimum Safety Requirements for Helicopter Landing Areas used on Regular basis has been issued and which lays down the minimum safety requirements for helicopter operating to/from helicopter landing areas within the Indian Territory outside and licensed aerodrome/heliports and procedures to be followed by Helicopter operations for such operations.
• Digital Automatic Terminal Information Service (DATIS) has been installed at Dehradun, Udaipur, Bhuntar airports, permitting automatic broadcast of Airport information to the Airlines/Pilots.
• AAI has installed an Instrument Landing System at Agra, a defence airfield, commissioning flight check has been successfully completed.
• ILS has been commissioned at Delhi for runway 09.
• Guidelines in the form of air traffic management circular have been issued on mandatory rest of relief for Air Traffic Control Operators (ATCOs). This will help in reducing stress and fatigue of ATCOs and improving overall safety levels.

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Indian government gives itself extension for mandatory airport licensing

The Indian government has issued a notification effectively extending the mandatory licensing deadline for most of the airports operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which is a government body.

“no person shall operate scheduled air transport services to/from an aerodrome with effect from the 30 June 2011, unless it has been licensed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)."

The licensing procedure for airports was initiated as a part of the standards notified by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO pronounced Eye-Kay-Oh) in its Annex-14 on the subject of Aerodrome Design and Operations. Accordingly, Part XI of the Aerodrome Licensing in India's Aircraft Rules 1937 was amended to include the provision for licensing.

While all ten privately operated or joint-venture airports have been required to obtain licensing in order to commence/continue operations, the airports operated solely by the Airports Authority of India which is part of the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation, have been given this extension vide notification SO 1735 (E) dated 19th July 2010.

The private/JV airports are: Lengpui airport, Aizwal, Manipur, Jindal Vijaynagar, Karntaka, Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery, Cochin, Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, Sri Satya Sai Airport, Puttaparthy, Jamshedpur Aerodrome, Jamshedpur, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore International Airport, Devanahalli, Bangalore, Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Airport, Nanded, Maharashtra.

Total number of AAI airports to be licensed : 53
Initial Licenses issued : 15
License applications received : 15
Aerodrome inspected for issue of licence : 14
Applications yet to be submitted : 23

In addition to the AAI operated airports, there are 22 defence airports which have civil enclaves for civil aviation operations. Some notable airports include Lohegaon at Pune, Dabolim at Goa, and at Guwahati, Assam. The Ministry reports that they have taken up the issue of licensing of these airports with the Ministry of Defence, but no further information is available.

Airport licensing backgrounder

Regulations for licensing of aerodromes in India existed since 1956 as provided in Rule 79 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. The Rule however excluded Government aerodromes, which were managed and operated by the regulator – Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

In 1971, the management of four Government managed international aerodromes i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata was given to the International Airports Authority of India (IAAI). In 1985, the management of all Government managed domestic aerodromes was transferred from the DGCA to the National Airports Authority (NAA) along with the aerodrome directorate.

Subsequently, in 1995, the IAAI and NAA were merged to form the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

With the transfer of all airports and CNS/ATM (communication and navigation systems / air traffic management) functions, from DGCA to the NAA in 1985, there was a void in the DGCA, so in 1999 the aerodrome standards directorate was established within the DGCA. However, the activities remained minimal due to the manpower constraints and lack of regulatory framework for aerodrome licensing.

In March 2001, ICAO adopted Amendment No. 4 to Annex 14, Volume I, which required all airports used for international operations to be certified by November 27, 2003. Accordingly, the rules in India were amended to comply with the ICAO provisions. Rule 78 of India's Aircraft Rules, 1937 states

No aerodrome shall be used as a regular place of landing and departure by a scheduled air transport service or for a series of landings and departures by any aircraft carrying passengers or cargo for hire or reward unless it has been licensed for the purpose.

Detailed requirements and guidance in the form of Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) and advisory circulars have been developed based on ICAO's Standards and Recommend Procedures (SARPs) and guidance material provided in the ICAO document on aerodrome certification procedure.

In India, there are about 87 airports used for scheduled flight operations. As of date eleven international and twelve domestic airports have been licensed.

Priority has been given to international airports to ensure compliance to India's obligations to ICAO and the Chicago Convention.

Does the phrase "Do as I say, not as I do" come to your mind too?

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India passes FAA IASA audit; hopes for Jet Airways United Airlines codeshare improve

A herculean effort mounted by Secretary Civil Aviation Nambiar and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief Nasim Zaidi helped India pass the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program audit of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

During its 2006 audits, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had found several violations of 300 guidelines. Shortage of skilled manpower was the biggest problem.

Earlier this year, the FAA came for an audit and gave India five months before downgrading it, something that would have meant no new flights by Indian airlines to America and strict checks for their planes on US soil.

In this short time Nambiar and Zaidi strengthened the regulatory mechanism by getting almost 600 technical posts sanctioned for effective implementation of much needed rules for safe flying that were also put in place.

Now as a result, Indian carriers like Jet Airways and Air India will be able to able to expand their service in the US through more flights and new access points.

They will also be able to enter into code share agreements with US carriers like the still pending May 2008 one between Jet Airways United Airlines. The delay in FAA approval has even resulted in a diplomatic protest by India.

Its a pity that it took an external threat to goad India's regulators in to much needed action, but due credit to Mr. Nambiar and Mr. Zaidi and their teams. They day belongs to you!!!

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Airlines in India face higher penalties for violations as India ratifies ICAO Montreal Convention 1999

Airlines flouting rules relating to safety and passenger comfort will now have to pay higher penalties with new laws coming into effect. The penalties will be imposed on an airlines if it violates safety aspects like airworthiness of the aircraft, security and issues relating to passenger comfort.

The rules raise the penalty limit from Rs 1,000 to up to Rs one million and imprisonment of up to two years instead of a month earlier.

Parliament had last year passed amendments to the 1934 Aircraft Act, which among other things also raised the penalties for violation of various provisions of the law. The legislation took into account liberalisation in the aviation industry and consequent opening up of the domestic air services, the massive growth in passenger traffic and the associated challenges.

While the new rules have been made harsh for the defaulters, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which brought out the new rules, has already created teams comprising its own officials, airport and airline staffers at major airports to look into lapses and violation of safety and security issues.

Part of this new effort is due to the pressures brought on India by both the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The other part is due to the fact that India became 91st country to have ratified Montreal Convention 1999 which has been incorporated into the Carriage by Air (Amendment) Act, 2009 in India. On May 1, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) deposited the Instrument of Accession by India to the Convention for Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air done at Montreal on May 28, 1999 with ICAO. The Convention will become effective for India on June 30, 2009

The DGCA will also take steps to encourage self-regulation by airlines. Under the amended law, the DGCA has been granted supervisory control over several matters, including maintaining of standards of Communication, Navigation, Surveillance (CNS), Air Traffic Management (ATM), and operation of foreign registered planes in the Indian skies.

The new law also provides for exercising control over manufacture, possession, use, operation and sale of civil aircraft and also enables licensing of the personnel engaged in air traffic control and cover security aspects of aircraft operations.

Currently in case of death of a passenger, Indian carrier operating to international destinations provide a measly Rs 750,000 (US$ 15,000) as compensation. The new rules will raise this up to US$ 66,500. The hike will be similar in case of compensation for loss, damage or delay in baggage. As per industry experts, the limit of compensation for passenger delay will rise to US$ 2,760 per passenger. For delay, loss or destruction of baggage, the carrier's liability will rise to a limit of US$ 665 per passenger and for cargo to US$ 11.30 per kg from the present Rs 450 per kg.

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India risks downgrade by US FAA under IASA program

An audit team of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is meeting the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in Delhi today. The team will check if India is following the international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) under the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Program.

During its 2006 audits, ICAO had found several violations of 300 guidelines. Shortage of skilled manpower was the biggest problem, and neither the DGCA, nor its master, the Ministry of Civil Aviation have taken any substantive steps to correct the short-comings. The DGCA reportedly faces a shortfall of 700 adequately qualified staff, one of the pre-requisites to be assessed by the FAA team, and one the FAA has already wanted the DGCA about more than six months ago.

As per reports, in the 2006 ICAO audit, for technical personnel qualification and training, India scored only two out of ten, against a global average of four; for safety oversight functions, India scored four out of ten against the global average of six.

This is going to be a tough time for Naseem Zaidi, India's Director General of Civil Aviation. Failing this assessment will result in a downgrade of India from its Category 1 to a Category 2 status, which will place severe restrictions on Indian carriers operating to the United States; currently Air India and Jet Airways.

Lest India thinks that its special new found friendship with the United States will help, one should look at one of the United States' closest allies, Israel, who was recently downgraded to Category 2.

As per the FAA guidelines

While in Category 2 status, carriers from these countries will be permitted to continue operations at current levels under heightened FAA surveillance. Expansion or changes in services to the United States by such carriers are not permitted while in category 2, although new services will be permitted if operated using aircraft wet-leased from a duly authorized and properly supervised U.S. carrier or a foreign air carrier from a category 1 country that is authorized to serve the United States using its own aircraft.

Facing the imminent threat of the downgrade the DGCA is desperately trying to recruit more staff, and preparing a roadmap to separate the tasks of safety inspections and accident investigations from its regulatory functions. It has even finally come to its senses and mooted a proposal for the formation of an independent agency vested with the responsibility of accident investigations.

The question now remains whether (a) Will the mandarins at the Ministry of Civil Aviation, finally come to their senses and give up their powers? and (b) Is it too little, too late. Will the FAA give India more time and accept India's improvement roadmap plan?

I am very doubtful on both.

Read more about the FAA IASA program.

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