India’s aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), plans to conduct an extensive examination of commercial airplanes in India. Focus will be more on aircraft that have been in service for a long time and have clocked considerable flying hours over the years to ensure their structural integrity is not compromised.

DGCA springs into action following recent events

Successive developments in the last few weeks have put the focus on the structural fitness of commercial aircraft in India. The DGCA has been particularly busy lately dealing with one situation after another, prompting it to thoroughly check older airplanes.

Last month, authorities ordered a SpiceJet Boeing 737 airplane to be grounded following a passenger’s tweet, which contained not-so-impressive pictures of the plane. The images showed scruffy cabin interiors and questionable conditions of some panels that appeared broken or missing.

A few days later, another passenger on an Air India flight took pictures of the Airbus A320’s shabby interiors, including a broken armrest, and posted them on social media. The DGCA asked the airline to check and rectify the problem as soon as possible.

While the latest SpiceJet incident of a 737 facing turbulence is not related to aircraft upkeep, it did raise questions about the practices of the maintenance department, which cleared the airplane to take off despite damage to its interiors being reported.

So, what is the DGCA’s plan going forward?

SpiceJet Boeing 737
Photo: Boeing

Night checks

According to The Times of India, the aviation regulator plans to conduct extensive cabin checks on airplanes, particularly the older ones, when parked at night across major airports in India. A senior official was quoted as saying,

“Now we will do this on a regular basis at night time when the planes are parked. If anything that could affect safety is detected, the planes will be grounded till the airline rectifies the deficiencies.”

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The authorities have kicked off the process by examining the fleet of SpiceJet, covering about half of its 70+ planes. They are identifying issues and looking at ways to address them. It must be noted that these checks are over and above the regular maintenance checks that these airplanes go through.

The DGCA has made it clear to SpiceJet that they will need to loosen their purse strings and spend more on cabin upkeep to ensure the safety of flight operations.

Planes parked at Delhi Airport
ATL officials spoke with leaders of Indian airlines recently. Photo: Getty Images

No leniency

The DGCA plans to scrutinize old airplanes and airlines with weak finances more. Even before the pandemic, most airlines in India did not enjoy a healthy balance sheet, and COVID-19 put the brakes on any possible improvements.

India’s aviation regulator wants to ensure that a lack of cash does not become the reason for a lax attitude toward aircraft maintenance. It realizes that aircraft may have to be grounded for repairs and fixes, possibly resulting in flight delays or even cancellation. But it wants to prioritize safety before regular operations.

Hopefully, airlines will proactively fix these issues and be more vigilant in the future instead of DGCA having to ground planes.

What do you think about DGCA’s decision to check old airplanes in India? Please share your opinions in the comment section.

Source: The Times of India