DGCA penalises 3 private airlines, 6 landing slots withdrawn

Aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday took action against three airlines by taking away six landing slots at the Delhi airport for not using pilots trained to land in foggy conditions.

Aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday took action against three airlines by taking away six landing slots at the Delhi airport for not using pilots trained to land in foggy conditions.

The airlines — IndiGo, GoAir and Jet Airways — also did not equip their aircraft with mandatory devices to negate the effect of fog, resulting in diversion of flights, the regulator said.

The six slots — two each of the three airlines — were withdrawn after an equal number of flights of these airlines were diverted due to fog since Wednesday evening, directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) sources said.

The DGCA had earlier this month issued a stern warning to airlines to deploy pilots trained to fly under foggy conditions and aircraft fitted with devices to match CAT-III Instrument Landing System (ILS) in Delhi or face severe action.

The DGCA's meeting with the airlines and airport operators was held on January 7, two days after 53 flights were diverted out of fog-hit Delhi to nearby destinations.

The large-scale diversion was caused mainly due to the airlines operating planes with pilots not trained to land in foggy conditions or the aircraft not fitted with CAT-III ILS-matching devices.