India’s Aviation watchdog, Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has started a special audit of Airlines in the country starting with cashstarved Air India and SpiceJet to ensure that the weak financial condition of the Airlines don’t have any safety implications.
DGCA has commenced the flight operation quality assurance audit with special teams to study, among other parameters, flight data recorder readings to see if airlines are taking the required steps to maintain safe operations.
“We will audit all Airlines and have started with Air India and SpiceJet in the first phase. The safety of passengers is paramount. The audit of airports has already begun,” a DGCA source said.
As per the financial parameters, GoAir could be the third airline to undergo the safety audit after Air India and SpiceJet. Other airlines like IndiGo, Vistara and AirAsia have cash reserves. Most others are struggling to stay afloat as aviation has been the worst hit during the pandemic and no helping hand has come from the government so far.
An Air India source says that an online surveillance is going on for all operators. The response from SpiceJet is still awaited in this regard. All airlines, including Air India and SpiceJet say that their operations are absolutely safe and that they are following all rules and regulations.
“Majority of the airlines have failed to pay salaries and meet other expenses due to the reduced cash flow during the pandemic. In such a situation, it has to be made sure that the planes that are flying are absolutely airworthy and not compromising safety in any which way,” added a source from DGCA.
Due to the lockdown imposed due to coronavirus, airlines have suffered huge losses and thus the main purpose of this audit will have a special focus on flight operations, engineering (maintenance), medical, training and safety.