Exclusive: India stares at an air safety crisis as disgruntled CNS officers intend to cede ratings over recruitment, allowance row

New Delhi:  A total 1,024 of 1.200 certified officers of Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) department of Airport Authority of India (AAI) has decided to surrender their proficiency on 24 September after a meeting on 28 August between the management and officers on the intervention of Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu failed to resolve issues plaguing the critical unit meant for air safety. The CNS is the backbone of Air Traffic Services for the safe and smooth operation of aircraft at the airports and in the Indian airspace.

“Although CNS officers would continue to work at the airports across the country, they would do so without the ratings or license which they have earned after rigorous training on various systems like radar, automated displays, Very High-Frequency System (VHF) systems that assist Air Traffic Control to communicate with the aircraft. The AAI indifference towards concerns of CNS officers and the subsequent move could definitely affect the maintenance of critical systems and the air safety,” an officer requesting anonymity said.

Moreover, the move by CNS officers could trigger concerns in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), an international body to oversee civil aviation standards across the globe and Indian aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) since officers working without rating and proficiency in CNS is clear violation of laid down aviation norms.

When contacted by Firstpost, AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra refused to comment on the simmering issue.

At the core of imminent turmoil at various airports are two major issues concerning CNS. First is the direct recruitment of manager electronics for CNS department without proficiency and second is the deduction of earned allowance by CNS officers while in training after retirement.

“There are CNS engineers who have earned the certificates and ratings at different levels. They are stagnated in that position while on the other hand, AAI has decided to recruit untrained managers at the cost of executives who have undergone strict and specialised training on various communication and navigation systems. Those trained officers as per ICAO guidelines also get a monthly allowance in lieu of special task they are carrying out in addition to the salary but the entire sum is being deducted after the officer is retiring. This is totally unfair and unheard of anywhere in the world. We had earlier protested against such rules but were told that a proposal to rescind the policy was prepared by the civil aviation ministry and is now pending with the Cabinet Secretariat. It is not easy for the officers to surrender their proficiency and rating because by doing so they will also have to forego their monthly allowance but they are left with no option,” the officer quoted above said.

According to officials in the CNS department, they would do everything possible to ensure that air safety is not compromised because of their proposed plan to surrender proficiency but they conceded long-lasting impact on air safety if the issue is not resolved immediately.

“A team from ICAO observers is supposed to visit India in October to inspect civil aviation operations and regulations. When they find that entire CNS unit is working without proficiency ratings, it could attract serious repercussion for the Indian aviation bodies. Moreover, training is a continuous process because new systems come in every six months to ensure safety. How can managers being planned to hire with zero experience in aviation field going to assist in air safety?” officials asked.

A senior AAI officer, who was part of 28 August meeting on the advice of Prabhu said, the discussion was little hostile and the top management admonished an officer for contacting the civil aviation minister directly with their grievances. The meeting chaired by S Suresh, member, Air Navigation Services, was informed that managers recruited earlier in 2010-11 are yet to get their first promotion and nothing has been done for their vertical growth so inducting new officers would only add up to the stagnation.

“But, they did not listen to us. We are not against recruitment and have no plan to stall the process. Our only suggestion is to change the name of the post of manager (elec) as manager (CNS) and change in experience clause to specific CNS systems and specific machines for air safety instead of ‘electronics’ in general. This kind of criteria keeping in mind aviation safety is most unfortunate. In the proposed recruitment, the experience clause is kept vague and the stress on experience on Communication, Navigation and Surveillance equipment is totally absent, which violates every aviation rulebook,” the officer said.

When contacted, S Suresh, officiating Member of Air Navigation Services, AAI, refused to comment on the CNS officers surrendering the proficiency that could trigger air safety concerns.