The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has issued safety standards for ground handling service providers . Photo: dgca.gov.in

Aviation watchdog DGCA has come out with safety standards for ground handling service providers at airports, including the compulsory safety clearance requirement, as part of efforts to ensure safe ground operations amid rising air traffic.

The norms also come against the backdrop of ground incidents at some airports that have resulted in damage to aircraft.

Regulation for Ground Handling Service Providers

The new Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), prepared after detailed consultations, will strengthen the oversight mechanism, the DGCA said in a release on July 10.

It also specifies the training and competency requirements of ground personnel who are part of ground operations at the airports.

Ground Handling Service Providers (GHSPs) are required to obtain safety clearance within six months from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The six-month time period is from July 8, when the CAR was issued by the regulator.

“The robust safety mechanism to be implemented prospectively by GHSPs would help in prevention and mitigation of ground incidents at the airport thereby enhancing the quality of services rendered in safety-sensitive functions,” the release said.

Under the new norms, GHSPs are required to appoint accountable managers, station managers and safety managers. Among other requirements, ground personnel have to undergo recurrent training.

Increase in aircraft movements in India

Taking into account the phenomenal growth of aircraft movements, a corresponding increase in complexity of ground operations and the proliferation of third-party ground handling services, the DGCA said it has become imperative to establish safety standards for GHSPs involved in ground operations of aircraft at Indian airports, an area which was hitherto uncovered under any existing regulations.

Larger aircraft, an increase in ground support equipment and faster turnarounds all contribute to the challenge of improving operational safety.

With the growth of air traffic and the proliferation of third-party ground handling services, ground operations on airport aprons have become increasingly complex and potentially hazardous, the DGCA said.

Reasons for regulation

Apron areas are often the most congested and busiest areas of an airport with aircraft turnarounds being carried out under limited space and time constraints.

“Unlike other areas of the aviation industry, the ground handling sector is currently not subjected to the level of regulation in areas such as flight operations, air traffic management and aerodrome operations.

Therefore, it has become necessary to develop the requirements to achieve operational safety at airports for aircraft operations,” the regulator said.

India is one of the world’s fastest-growing civil aviation markets and airlines are expanding their fleets.

A pedestrian walks past the Air India building in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on September 21 said it has suspended the approval of Air India’s Flight Safety Chief for one month for certain lapses.

On July 25 and 26, the regulator’s team carried out the surveillance of Air India in the areas of internal audit, accident prevention work and availability of required technical manpower.

The surveillance found deficiencies in the accident prevention work carried out by the organisation and the availability of the requisite technical man power as required in the approved Flight Safety Manual and the relevant Civil Aviation Requirements, the DGCA said in a release.

“The approval of Chief of Flight Safety of Air India has been suspended for a period of one month for the lapses established,” it said.

A pedestrian walks past the Air India building in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on September 21 said it has suspended Tata Group-owned Air India’s Flight Safety Chief Rajeev Gupta for one month for certain lapses.

On July 25 and 26, the regulator’s team carried out the surveillance of Air India in the areas of internal audit, accident prevention work and availability of required technical manpower.

The surveillance found deficiencies in the accident prevention work carried out by the organisation and the availability of the requisite technical manpower as required in the approved Flight Safety Manual and the relevant Civil Aviation Requirements, the DGCA said in a release.

“The approval of Chief of Flight Safety of Air India has been suspended for a period of one month for the lapses established,” it said.

Mr. Rajeev Gupta is the Chief of Flight Safety Air India Ltd.

In the past also, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had cracked the whip against the full-service private carrier for various alleged violations and lapses. Last month, the regulator suspended for 10 days the ATO approval to Air India’s training facilities in Mumbai and Hyderabad for certain lapses in simulator training.

“Further it was observed that some of the internal audit/spot checks claimed to be carried out by the airline were done in a perfunctory manner and not as per the regulatory requirements,” the DGCA said in its statement on September 21.

The DGCA said, after reviewing the action taken report submitted by the airline, it issued show-cause notices to the concerned post holders.

“Based on the review of the replies received, the airline has been directed not to assign any audits/surveillance/spot checks pertaining to compliance of DGCA requirements to the particular auditor involved in the perfunctory inspections which indicates lack of diligence,” it said.

In February this year, the regulator had ordered the removal of Air India subsidiary AIX Connect (earlier AirAsia India) head of training, from his position for a period of three months, violating certain norms relating to the pilots training.

Besides, it had imposed a penalty of ₹20 lakh on the airline, as well as a fine of ₹3 lakh each on eight designated examiners..