Mumbai: A US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) team is in Delhi to audit the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) safety oversight mechanism.
In January, the FAA downgraded India's safety ranking to category II finding deficiencies in DGCA's safety oversight function and had imposed curbs on additional flights by Indian carriers to the US.
This has impacted Air India and Jet Airways, particularly the latter which is keen to add flights to Chicago and New York. Also US airlines have been restricted from code sharing with Indian carriers.
Air India earns about 18-20% revenue from India-US routes while Jet Airways about 5% of its revenue from its sole flight to Newark.
FAA team's Delhi visit a month before US president Barack Obama's India trip has led to buzz in aviation circles about a quick revision in India's ranking.
"The FAA team is checking DGCA's procedures regarding certification of airlines and charter companies. The audit is currently underway. While India follows International Civil Aviation Organisation standards there were lacunae in procedures being followed in India. These processes have been streamlined and certification process has been revamped," said a civil aviation ministry official.
11/12/14 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard
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In January, the FAA downgraded India's safety ranking to category II finding deficiencies in DGCA's safety oversight function and had imposed curbs on additional flights by Indian carriers to the US.
This has impacted Air India and Jet Airways, particularly the latter which is keen to add flights to Chicago and New York. Also US airlines have been restricted from code sharing with Indian carriers.
Air India earns about 18-20% revenue from India-US routes while Jet Airways about 5% of its revenue from its sole flight to Newark.
FAA team's Delhi visit a month before US president Barack Obama's India trip has led to buzz in aviation circles about a quick revision in India's ranking.
"The FAA team is checking DGCA's procedures regarding certification of airlines and charter companies. The audit is currently underway. While India follows International Civil Aviation Organisation standards there were lacunae in procedures being followed in India. These processes have been streamlined and certification process has been revamped," said a civil aviation ministry official.
11/12/14 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard
