US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has
announced that India complies with international safety standards set by the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and has been granted a
Category 1 rating under the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment
(IASA) programme. The announcement was made April 8 during a meeting between
Secretary Foxx and India’s Minister of Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi Raju
“US and Indian aviation officials have an
important, cooperative working relationship,” said Secretary Foxx. “The United
States Government commends the Government of India for taking corrective action
to address the safety oversight issues identified during the IASA process.”
A Category 1 rating means that the country’s
civil aviation authority complies with ICAO standards and permits India’s air
carriers to add flights to the United States using their own aircraft and carry
the code of US carriers on their operations.
This Category 1 rating follows a December
8-12, 2014 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) review, under its
International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme, of the Directorate
General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of India, subsequent meetings, and an FAA
visit to India on March 30-31. On January 14, 2014, the FAA assigned India a
Category 2 IASA rating, which signified that India’s civil aviation safety
oversight regime did not currently comply with ICAO standards. Under Category
2, the United States continued to work with India’s DGCA while India’s air
carriers continued existing service to the United States. However, they were
not allowed to establish new services to the United States using their own
aircraft.
“Our countries will continue to work together
to meet the challenges of ensuring safety in international civil aviation,”
said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. India first achieved a Category 1 rating
in August 1997. A December 2012 FAA audit identified some deficiencies in the
DGCA from ICAO-set global standards for oversight of aviation safety which led
to a Category 2 designation. Subsequently, the FAA began a reassessment of
India’s compliance with ICAO standards under the FAA’s IASA programme.
Commented Amber Dubey, India head of aerospace
and defence at global consultancy KPMG: "It is a welcome development. Full
marks to DGCA, MoCA and the industry stakeholders involved from both India and
the US. Given the huge growth expected in Indian aviation and the safety
challenges thereof, we can't afford to be complacent. DGCA needs continuous
improvement in its systems, processes, manpower, training and transparency. Its
financial and operational independence has to be enhanced. It has to improve
its transparency and ease of doing business with industry. The industry hopes
that the Category 1 upgrade should lead to further reforms.
Notably, FAA assesses the civil aviation
authorities of all countries with air carriers that operate, or seek to
operate, into the United States, or codeshare with a US air carrier, and makes
that information available to the public. The assessments determine whether or
not foreign civil aviation authorities are meeting ICAO safety oversight
standards, not FAA regulations. In order to maintain a Category 1 rating, a
country must adhere to the safety oversight standards of ICAO, the United
Nations’ technical agency for international civil aviation that establishes
international standards and recommended practices for government oversight,
airports, aircraft operations and maintenance.
A Category 2 rating
means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air
carriers in accordance with the minimum international civil aviation standards,
or that its civil aviation authority – the equivalent to the FAA for civil
aviation safety matters – is deficient in one or more areas of safety oversight,
such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping, or inspection
procedures and enforcement.
No comments:
Post a Comment