India under scrutiny - Below or on par with international standards?

US team inspects air safety measures (India)


This is the second time FAA has audited India's air safety following the downgrade in January 2014

A team of US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials visited India on Monday for a final review of safety measures taken after it had downgraded the country's air security ratings over a year ago, sources said.

A senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official told Business Standard consultations with the FAA team would continue on Tuesday.

This is the second time FAA has audited India's air safety following the downgrade in January 2014. India is hoping for a return to Category-I status. A review would occur only after FAA filed its inspection report in April, sources said. "The FAA team is likely to file its report by April 10 and we are hopeful of a review by the end of April," a senior ministry official said.

FAA had lowered India to Category-II because of inadequate safety oversight. During its earlier visit in December, the FAA had flagged shortage of full-time flight operations inspectors and safety procedures.

Category II means India's aviation safety does not match international standards. Indian carriers like Air India and Jet Airways could not add new US flights, while existing ones faced more scrutiny by FAA inspectors in the US since the downgrade.