DGCA notices to Ahmedabad, Chennai airports over safety

G Chandramouli and Manoj Gangal, directors of Chennai and Ahmedabad airports respectively, were issued the show cause notices on Tuesday and the aviation regulator has asked them to respond within 15 days.

Aviation regulator DGCA Tuesday issued show cause notices to the directors of the Chennai and Ahmedabad airports after it found that some critical areas were not being maintained as per its safety standards, sources said.

RESA is a specific area at both the ends of the runway which is kept clean of all non-frangible objects so as to limit consequences if a plane overshoots or undershoots the runway during landing or take off. (REUTERS)

The inspection of the airports was done earlier this month by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

“It was found during the inspection that both the airports failed to meet DGCA safety standards in certain areas,” a source told PTI.

G Chandramouli and Manoj Gangal, directors of Chennai and Ahmedabad airports respectively, were issued the show cause notices on Tuesday and the aviation regulator has asked them to respond within 15 days, the sources said. The action comes in the backdrop of multiple aircraft landing incidents at various airports during monsoon season. In the notices, copies of which are with PTI, the DGCA has stated that “critical parts of the aerodrome required to conduct safe aircraft operations” at both airports “are not being maintained in accordance to the regulator’s requirements”.

The notice issued to Chandramouli stated that non-frangible material such as “concrete slabs, open concrete trench and chambers” were found on the primary runway as well as the secondary runway of the Chennai airport during inspections that were conducted on July 2 and July 3.

“Several large loose stones were found on RESA (Runway End Safety Area)” of both the ends of the primary runway at the Chennai airport, according to the notice.

RESA is a specific area at both the ends of the runway which is kept clean of all non-frangible objects so as to limit consequences if a plane overshoots or undershoots the runway during landing or take off. The primary runway strip of the Chennai airport failed friction test, as per DGCA notice. “At a distance of 290 metre-474 metre from the beginning of runway 25, the (average friction) value is below minimum friction value of 0.34 μ” as specified in the DGCA regulations, the notice read. A value less than 0.34 μ means the runway is slippery for an aircraft to land.