ALL airlines to be treated equally on safety: DGCA

To ensure that safety regulations are complied by all carriers and no airline gets special treatment, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to do away with special dispensations granted to some airlines.

To ensure that safety regulations are complied by all carriers and no airline gets special treatment, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to do away with special dispensations granted to some airlines.

HT Image

The DGCA is the industry safety regulator. Dispensations are permissions and relaxations given by the regulator in special cases.

DGCA chief EK Bharat Bhushan has issued instructions to do away with dispensations and ensure that all airlines get a level-playing field, sources said. A private carrier had complained to the DGCA that while it operates its flights to London with two sets of pilots, two other Indian carriers operating on the same route have been given relaxations by the regulator to operate on the route with a single set of pilots (a commander and a co-pilot).

“Emphasis is laid on a level-playing field,” an official said.