ICAO to audit India’s aviation safety
ATP- Arab tourism portal- There are 25 such airports; civil aviation minister asks defence minister to look into the issueAn impending audit by the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in November has brought the focus of the civil aviation ministry back on airports owned and managed by defence forces.
The ministry wants these 25 airports, also called civil enclaves, to be managed according to ICAO standards and has asked Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to look into the issue.
“The defence minister assured the civil aviation ministry that he will look into the matter,“ said a civil aviation ministry official.Civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju held a meeting at his office with the defence minister earlier this month to discuss the matter, the official said.
“The civil enclaves are essentially being maintained and built for fighter aircraft, which are lighter than civilian aircraft. It is not that these airports are unsafe but non-compliance of ICAO norms does raise some concern,“ said another civil aviation ministry official.
Officials said the civil enclaves do not comply with the ICAO rules that mandate runway markings, a designated safety area alongside the runway, frequent maintenance of runway through friction testing, separation between runway and taxiway, and separation between two aircraft while landing and take-off.Safety analysts said that the government should have dealt with the matter much earlier.
“The government and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation should have started their work on improving civil enclaves much earlier than July.
The fact that ICAO is coming back for audit so soon proves that the organisations has concerns over India’s safety,“ said Mohan Ranganathan, a safety expert and a former pilot.
He said that landing on these civil enclaves poses a safety concern since the safety procedures set by ICAO are not being followed.
The ICAO audit will assess the country on aerodrome, air navigation services and organisations.An audit conducted by the organisations in 2013 had found the country’s implementation on organisations and air navigation services below the world average.
Following its audit, ICAO had placed India in the list of 13 worst performing nations.
The US Federal Aviation Authority had in January 2014 also downgraded India, to Category-II, placing it in the league of Bangladesh and Ghana. However, the FAA upgraded India in April this year.
