TNN

Mumbai, Sep 26: The days of airlines in India flouting aviation norms with impunity will soon be over. The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is working on the finer details of a new set of guidelines that will empower it to levy hefty fines, detain aircraft within Indian territory or impose imprisonment of three years on airline officials who violate aviation safety norms. Till now, all that the agency could do was impose a petty fine or issue a memo to the carrier concerned.

The change is coming in through an amendment to the Indian Aircraft Act, 1934. Expected to come into force in a couple of months from now, it is likely to change the way the Indian aviation industry functions.

"The amendment will enlarge the scope of DGCA’s functions. Among other things, it will give the agency statutory powers for surveillance. Apart from the right to perform safety oversight functions, it will also give DGCA the power to levy fines up to Rs 10 lakh for violations,’’ said joint director-general A K Chopra.

The amendment will give DGCA the right to detain planes for violations within Indian airspace and in some cases, if required, call for up to three years of imprisonment for the officials involved. The DGCA till now could only cancel licences of erring pilots, aircraft engineers and cabin crew or dash off a strong note. Even the fines levied are negligible. For instance, if an airline is found compromising on passenger safety, all that the DGCA can do is issue a memo and at the most threaten to cancel its air operators’ permit (AOP).

"It’s practically impossible to cancel the AOP of big airlines like Air India, Jet and Kingfisher etc. The only time the option was exercised was in the 1990s, when the AOP of Damania Airways was withdrawn for 2-3 days,’’ said an aviation safety observer.

The proposal for this all-important amendment was prepared by the civil aviation ministry last year following which it was tabled before the cabinet for approval. The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2006, was tabled by civil aviation minister Praful Patel before Parliament two weeks ago and cleared unanimously.

While it is expected to make airlines more accountable, the amendment will also offer ‘protection’ to the carriers by giving them the right to appeal against a certain decision. "There will be a provision to see that the amendment is not misused,’’ said Chopra.

"The amendment is the need of the hour as it will put appropriate safeguards in place. Recent air accidents in Phuket and Brazil have only highlighted the need for better guidelines to make airlines more accountable for aviation safety,’’ said an expert.

With this, the DGCA will at least get a fraction of the power that aviation regulatory authorities round the world, like the US’s Federal Aviation Administration, enjoy.