Kerala crash prompts India airline safety audit

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has started a special safety audit of all Indian carriers beginning with the national carrier Air India and SpiceJet.

New Delhi: Weeks after the Kozhikode plane crash, the Indian aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started a special safety audit of all Indian carriers beginning with the national carrier Air India and SpiceJet.

"The aviation regulator will audit all Indian airlines and a special committee is also being constituted. Air India and SpiceJet auditing has already begun in the first phase," said a senior DGCA official.

Another official said that DGCA has started flight operation quality assurance (FOQA) audit and its main focus will be on flight operations, engineering (maintenance), medical, training, and safety.

Notably, DGCA will not audit Air India Express as the government has already appointed a five-member team to probe the Kozhikode crash, which killed at least 18 people after the flight (Air India Express) skidded off the runway in rain and broke apart while landing on 7 August this year.

DGCA has also started an audit of 10 out of 12 airports in heavy rain areas like Mumbai, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, etc.

The aviation sector has been hit hard by coronavirus pandemic with airlines cancelling international flights and inconsistency among the state governments regarding quarantine rules for air passengers.

All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures by announcing pay cuts, LWP, and firing of employees in order to conserve cash flow.

A DGCA official said, "it is important to audit the airlines as their cash flow has reduced amid the restrictions imposed due to coronavirus pandemic and they are trying different ways to in order to conserve cash flow."

"Therefore, it is important for us to check that all airlines are following all safety norms made by the aviation regulator," he added.

In one such case, on 11 August, DGCA had suspended two AirAsia India top officials, Capt Manish Uppal and Capt Mukesh Neema for a period of three months for safety violations.

AirAsia India, a joint venture of the global flyer AirAsia Berhad and India's Tata Sons, had drawn flak since mid-June. AirAsia India had suspended pilot Gaurav Taneja who had earlier alleged that the airline has asked its pilots to do 98% of landings in "Flap 3" mode, which allows it to save fuel.

Taneja had said that if a pilot does not do 98% of landings in the "Flap 3" mode, the airline considers it a violation of its standard operating procedure (SOP).