Under US pressure, govt approves creation of 75 posts in DGCA

New Delhi: Under pressure to avoid a downgrade by US aviation regulator FAA, the Union government has approved creation of 75 crucial posts in DGCA to carry out safety inspection of airlines and private charter companies.  All these positions, like Chief Flight Operation Inspector (FOIs), Deputy and Senior FOIs, would be created in the Flight Standards Directorate (FSD) of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The 75 posts have been created on the basis of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards meant for aircraft and helicopter operations, an official spokesperson said, adding it has also been decided to pay salaries to the new recruits as per industry standards to attract talent. Among the concerns raised by Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) over 33 issues were filling up of several senior positions including those of full-time FOIs, beefing up of aviation safety training programmes and preparation of manuals and documentation on safety issues. The FAA could downgrade DGCA on aviation safety count –from the top Category I to a lower ranking, if the concerns raised by it were not addressed. The FAA is scheduled to give its final report any time now on the audits it carried out in September and December, official sources said. On the basis of this report, FAA would decide whether to downgrade India’s aviation safety status or retain it on the top-most category. The FS Division of DGCA carries out, among other things, safety oversight functions, training programmes of airlines, standardization of trainee of captains, airline certification, examination of operational documents and other examinations. The FOIs carry out surveillance checks involving cockpit en-route inspections, cabin inspections, ramp inspections, station facility inspections, proficiency checks, simulator evaluation and main base inspections. PTI