New Delhi: After a rap from the aviation regulator for neglecting safety issues, Kingfisher Airlines on Monday submitted a detailed response to DGCA giving time-bound plans to resolve the lapses and discrepancies identified.
As Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh asserted that there would be no compromise on aviation safety, Kingfisher officials submitted the airline's response at the headquarters of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in New Delhi, but no details were available.
A long list of discrepancies and violations by various airlines, including Kingfisher, had come to light in a financial audit carried out by DGCA which directed them to resolve all issues in a time-bound manner.
The DGCA asked the carriers to respond to the findings this week and take urgent action to rectify the situation.
"The Civil Aviation Ministry will not tolerate any violation of safety norms. There will be no compromise on air safety," the Minister told reporters in New Delhi.
"Basically, you need more training for pilots and crew. All airlines have to do that. But this business has grown so fast in the last few years that some delays are taking place," Singh said in response to questions.
Pointing out the lapses and violations by Kingfisher, the financial surveillance report had said "a reasonable case exists for withdrawal of their airline operator permit as their financial stress is likely to impinge on safety."
It had also come down heavily on Air India Express, saying "a prima facie case exists for restricting their operations in view of safety issues."
Among various issues, Kingfisher was asked to submit a plan on recovery of its flights and recapitalisation of the airline by Monday. The airline has cancelled 157 flights in this winter out of a total of over 400 allotted to it.
Keeping in mind several deficiencies, DGCA is believed to have observed that IndiGo's "fast growth induction plan", emanating from its 180 aircraft order to Airbus, needed to be reviewed.
Maintaining that IndiGo had carried out large number of "premature engine removals" in a short span between January and October last year, DGCA is believed to have sought a review of its ETOPs operations (extended operations).
ETOPs limit long-distance flights by twin-engined aircraft and allows those having more than two engines. This could have an impact on the airline's international operations, sources said.
Similarly, Jet Airways has been castigated for not fully complying with the 2011 audit plan and not having adequate number of trainers. The airline and its subsidiary JetLite were faced with shortage of commanders and having a serious backlog in imparting training to the cabin and cockpit crew.
The DGCA is understood to have pointed out that the Naresh Goyal-promoted carrier had cancelled as high as one-third of its flights due to poor loads, though the rate of cancellation was only 0.8 per cent in 2011.
Air India subsidiary, Alliance Air, has "violated" rules by appointing a non-pilot as Executive Director (Operations), the DGCA is believed to have found.
While cargo carrier Blue Dart does not have a dedicated channel for two-way communication for aircraft, JetLite does not possess the software to monitor the Digital Flight Data Recorder (blackbox) and GoAir has not carried out engineering audits, a mandatory safety requirement.
Kingfisher is expected to come up with a time-bound plan to resolve deficiencies by Monday, Air India's low-cost arm Air India Express would also have to abide by similar conditions. All other airlines have also been given different dates over the week to appear before DGCA, sources said.
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