THE LOCKDOWNS and curtailed airline operations attributable to Covid could possibly be the explanation behind the rising variety of technical malfunctions being reported by Indian airways, DGCA chief Arun Kumar informed The Indian Express, including that the aviation security regulator is enhancing its surveillance to minimise such occasions.
“The reasons for the increasing number of technical snags appear to be Covid-related, which impacted airline operations due to lockdown and curtailed operations etc. Also, there is a universal problem of manpower shortage after Covid, not just with one airline or one country,” Kumar stated in an interview.
According to official knowledge sourced from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), over 460 technical snags have been reported by airways in India within the final one yr.
Last week, the DGCA ordered a particular audit of all business airways following quite a lot of “engineering related incidents” throughout numerous carriers. As a part of its inspection, the regulator will examine the supply of manpower, amenities and tools, along with the plane grounded on account of non-availability of spares.
Kumar additionally stated that lots of the technical glitches “are actually routine”. “What is required is that as flight crew, you need to be alert, vigilant and respond to situations as they unfold, and if you follow the standard operating procedures, you can navigate without compromising safety. This means that if on ground, you attend to symptoms of snag before proceeding further; and if in air, do the checklist actions appropriately and, if required, seek a priority, precautionary or emergency landing as the case may be,” he stated.
DGCA chief Arun Kumar
“I must place on record our appreciation for our pilots, who have shown exemplary competence and have negotiated such snags with confidence and have not compromised safety,” he stated.
Recent spot checks by the DGCA discovered that airways are improperly figuring out causes of reported defects on plane, and are usually not putting certified engineers in any respect airports.
Over the previous few months, Indian carriers have been affected by technical malfunctions starting from engine snags and burning odor within the cabin to cabin depressurisation. Last week, an Air India-operated Boeing 787 wide-body airplane with round 260 folks on board suffered cabin depressurisation whereas flying from Dubai to Kochi, resulting in oxygen masks being deployed and a few of the passengers struggling nosebleeds.
Earlier this month, an IndiGo-operated Airbus A320neo airplane, on its means from Sharjah to Hyderabad, diverted to Karachi in Pakistan after pilots have been notified of an engine fault within the plane’s proper engine.
Prior to this incident, an Air India Express airplane from Kozhikode to Dubai diverted to Muscat in Oman after a burning odor was reported in one of many vents within the Boeing 737-800 plane’s ahead galley.
Low-cost airline SpiceJet noticed not less than eight incidents in lower than a month throughout May-June, following which the regulator issued a showcause discover to the airline, saying it had “failed” to ascertain secure, environment friendly and dependable air providers.
