'Aviation safety paramount, there would be no compromise': Jyotiraditya Scindia

Speaking to reporters, aviation minister Scindia said "decisive action has been taken in the last few weeks and months".

Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday stressed that safety of the citizens has been top priority for the government and there would be no compromise on it. Speaking to reporters, Scindia said "decisive action has been taken in the last few weeks and months". His comments come amid concerns over safety-linked incidents in the recent past, involving domestic carriers.

Jyotiraditya Scindia's comments on aviation safety come amid concerns over safety-linked incidents in the recent past, involving domestic carriers. (ANI file photo)

“The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has conducted many spot checks and regulatory audits and has taken appropriate action,” Scindia underlined, news agency ANI reported.

Several airlines have reported technical malfunction incidents in recent weeks. In the latest news, an IndiGo flight from Jorhat in Assam to West Bengal's capital city Kolkata skidded off the runway during take-off on Thursday and a pair of its wheels got stuck in the muddy outfield.

In a statement, IndiGo said the flight with 98 passengers aboard was cancelled and added, “IndiGo flight 6E-757 operating from Jorhat to Kolkata returned back to bay during departure. While taxiing out the pilot was advised that one of the main wheels had partially run over the grass adjacent to the taxiway.” All passengers were deboarded from the plane and were reported to be safe.

Prior to civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, DGCA chief Arun Kumar said on Thursday that the "hullabaloo" over the recent events concerning the country's airlines was unfortunate, adding that "an aircraft is a complex machine and has many components".

"Yes, we had diversions, air turnbacks, rejected/abandoned take-off, precautionary/priority/emergency landings, missed approaches, cancellation due to technical snags, return to the bay after pushback, etc. but tell me, which aviation market does not have these issues?" Kumar said

The DGCA chief also pointed out that none of the component-relates issued, which has ignited debates, has any bearing on safety if the pilot follows the SOPs and does the non-normal checklist actions and if not mitigated, seeks a precautionary/priority/emergency landing for further rectification on the ground."

(With agency inputs)