Air India likely to be allowed to fly Dreamliners to Japan soon

New Delhi: Air India is likely to be allowed  to fly its Boeing 787 Dreamliners to Japan soon with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) removing India from the list of nations like Congo, Guatemala and Haiti which have significant aviation safety concerns. Japan had earlier refused to allow Air India to operate the Dreamliners, replacing the Boeing 777 (Extended Range) aircraft, on the grounds that ICAO had expressed concerns over the safety measures. [caption id=“attachment_1070429” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Air India Dreamliners. Reuters[/caption] “We are quite hopeful that now Air India’s Dreamliner services to Japan will be on,” Civil Aviation Secretary K N Shrivastava told reporters here, adding that the Indian envoy in Japan had also raised the issue to allay the apprehensions expressed by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau. After carrying out a safety audit of aviation regulator DGCA earlier this month, the ICAO yesterday communicated to India that it no longer figures among the countries with Significant Safety Concerns (SSC) relating to airworthiness and operations, Shrivastava said. The ICAO had in an audit last December found two SSCs and had asked India to take corrective measures. These steps were taken immediately by the DGCA, following which the ICAO team returned to carry out another audit this month and certified that India has successfully addressed and resolved the issues. The DGCA would be facing another safety audit next month by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the decision for which was taken after the ICAO put India on the hot-list of nations having SSCs. Both Shrivastava and DGCA chief Arun Mishra exuded confidence that the Indian aviation regulator would pass the FAA test as well, as the ICAO’s audit has already shown that India has “implemented corrective action plans to address the safety concerns satisfactorily.” PTI