DGCA puts operations at Delhi, Mumbai airports under lens; finds many gaps

Hindustan Times

6 days ago

NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday said that it has started a special safety review of the country's airports to strengthen aviation safety and has started comprehensive surveillance at several major airports, including Delhi and Mumbai airports. Flights parked on the runway at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, in Mumbai on June 13 (PTI)
The exercise was conducted by two teams of the joint director general (JDG) of DGCA during the night and early morning hours at the airports. Officials said similar reviews would also be conducted at Hyderabad and Kolkata airports.
The aviation regulator said that the findings recorded by the team during the surveillance had been communicated to the operators for taking corrective action within seven days.
The review is in process, a DGCA official said, adding that findings during the surveillance revealed multiple cases where reported defects reappeared many times on aircraft, indicating ineffective monitoring and inadequate rectification action on repeated defects.
'The surveillance covered multiple critical areas such as flight operations, airworthiness, ramp safety, air traffic control (ATC), communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) systems, and pre-flight medical evaluations. Throughout the surveillance, ground activities and aircraft movements were closely monitored to check compliance with regulatory requirements and to identify weak areas for improvement,' a statement by the DGCA read.
DGCA said that the surveillance also found faults with the working of AMEs (aircraft maintenance engineering).
'At places, AMEs were not attending to snag rectification; defect reports generated by the aircraft system were not found recorded in the technical logbook; several life vests were not properly secured beneath their designated seats; the corrosion-resistant tape on the right-hand side winglet's lower blade was found to be damaged,' the statement said.
'Ground handling equipment such as baggage trolleys were found unserviceable; line maintenance stores and tool control procedures were not followed,' a statement issued by the DGCA said.
DGCA also found that during the maintenance of aircraft, the work order was not followed.
'The unserviceable thrust reverser system and Flap Slat Lever (device used by pilots to extend or retract the flaps and slats on an aircraft's wings during takeoff and landing) were not locked; during maintenance, safety precautions were not taken by AMEs (aircraft maintenance engineers) as per the AMM (aircraft maintenance manual),' the statement read.
At one airport, DGCA said the centre line marking of the runway had also faded.
'The rapid exit taxiway and green centre light were not unidirectional; the obstruction limitation data has not been updated for the last three years and no survey has been performed despite many new constructions around the vicinity of the aerodrome; a number of vehicles in the ramp area were found without speed governors. These vehicles were withdrawn by cancelling their AVP (aircraft verification procedure) and the drivers' ADP (airport driver permit) were suspended.'
The enhanced surveillance also revealed that a simulator was checked and found not to match the aircraft configuration, and the software was not updated to the current version.
'A domestic flight of a scheduled carrier was held up due to worn tyres and it was released only after the required rectification was carried out,' the DGCA stated.