In the last one year, between July 2021 and June 2022, Indian airlines have reported 478 technical snags and aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken action against responsible personnel/post holder of the airline operator in 21 instances of violations, the Union Civil Aviation Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, said in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Action taken

In July, during the ongoing inspection/investigation by DGCA 12 aircraft have been grounded for various technical discrepancies. Action taken by the DGCA include include suspension of licence, withdrawal of post holder issuance of warning letters, among other action.

“During the last three months including the current month, due to system malfunction there were four incidents wherein the operating crew declared emergency,” Scindia said in reponse to another question in the Lok Sabha.

Surveillance, spot checks

According to him, for the one-year-period, around 177 surveillance, 497 spot checks and 169 night surveillance have been carried out by the aviation regulator on engineering and maintenance aspects of scheduled operators.

The Minister informed the Parliament that an aircraft may experience technical snags due to malfunctioning of components or equipment fitted. These technical snags are reported by the flight crew on receiving an aural or visual warning in the cockpit or an indication of an in-operative or faulty system or while experiencing difficulty in handling or operating the aircraft.

On the other hand, the observations and findings made during surveillance, spot checks and night surveillance carried out by the DGCA are provided to the airline for taking corrective action. The action taken, by the airlines, to correct observations are reviewed and the findings are closed. In case of violations, DGCA takes enforcement action that include warning, suspension, cancellation including imposition of financial penalty to the personnel involved/airline

21 instances of violations

“Based on the violations found during surveillance, spot checks, night surveillance carried out during 2021-22, enforcement action has been taken by DGCA against responsible personnel/post holder of the airline operator in 21 instances of violations, which inter-alia includes suspension of licence, withdrawal of post holder (approved personnel to the airlines involved in the maintenance of aircraft), issuance of warning letters, etc,” Scindia informed the Parliament.