After recent incidents like huge crowd of passengers at many airports, flight delays and flight cancellations of Indigo, DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has made the inspection process more stringent than before. Under the new order, now the inspection teams at every major airport of the country will have to do on-spot check for at least one hour as soon as they reach. This check will be different from routine inspection and will also include surprise checks. The objective of this step of DGCA is to ensure that all standards related to airport management, security procedures and passenger convenience are implemented promptly and in a transparent manner.
Which areas will the inspection team examine?
In the new guidelines, DGCA has made it clear that the inspection team will not only do superficial inspection, but will also examine every important element related to airport operations on the spot. The most important points in this are as follows:
- Checking the latest status of licenses of pilots, engineers, ATC staff and ground staff.
- Verification of training reports and duty roster of pilots.
- As per the rules, whether the presence of staff is sufficient or not will also be inspected.
From a safety perspective, safety management systems, ground handling, baggage processing, ramp activities and fueling procedures will also be part of the team’s priority checklist. The availability and working condition of equipment, vehicles and related machinery will also be checked on the spot.
Special attention will also be paid to passenger amenities such as queue length, flight status updates, delay or cancellation information system, water, toilets, helpdesk and complaint redressal arrangements. Passenger inconvenience will now be an important part of the inspection.
DGCA gave the team the right to improve immediately
In the new order, DGCA has made it clear that the inspection team will not be limited to merely filing reports. If any flaw is found on the spot, the team will have the right to issue orders for rectification at that very moment. It is mandatory to report all such orders to DGCA Headquarters within 24 hours. Further, the detailed report of the complete inspection will be submitted within 48 hours. This process will ensure that the problem is not merely reported, but is immediately rectified and airport operations can return to normal.
DGCA decides to take strict action on non-compliance
It has also been made clear in the new instructions that if any airport does not comply with the orders of DGCA or fails to timely remove the deficiencies found during inspection, then the agency will take direct action under its Enforcement Policy. This may also include financial penalties, operating restrictions and licensing related measures.
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