Civil Aviation authority on anvil: DGCA

The proposed aviation authority will address the issues of domestic aviation sector.

Formation of a Civil Aviation Authority to address issues of domestic aviation sector is under Centre’s consideration,Director General of Civil Aviation E K Bharathbhushan said.

“Similar set up exists in many foreign countries including the US,Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Discussions are on to form such an authority in India and the proposal is under consideration of the Civil Aviation Ministry,” Bharathbhushan told a meet-the-press programme here.

In such a scenario,the present DGCA will merge with the Civil Aviation Authority,he said.

On expansion of airports in Kerala,he said next phase of Kozhikode airport at Karippur required 137 acres of land,which the state government was expected to acquire.

The proposal to develop an airport at Pathanamthitta,mooted as an NRK (Non-Residents Keralites) initiative,had not been given approval by DGCA following objections from Defence,he said.

The country’s civil aviation sector,which has made a remarkable comeback after the global financial crunch,is witnessing unprecedented growth these days,Bharathbhushan said.

The sector had crossed 50 million mark in terms of the number of domestic passengers last year and registered a 24 per cent growth this year till July,he said.

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“The financial meltdown,which gripped the world in 2007-08,had its reflection in our aviation sector as well.But,now,we have returned to the growth path in a big way,” he said.

With the passenger volume going up steeply,the number of civil aircraft operating in the country would also increase remarkably in future,he said.

“A total of 433 aircraft are operating in the country at present. But a recent study says this would cross 1000 soon.

More than 200 helicopter,private jets and a large number of chartered flights are also operating in the country.”

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The passenger handling capacity of India’s airports,which was just 66 million in 2005,has reached 225 million now. In the next 10 years,the number of total airports in the country would cross the 500 mark,he said.

On the fake pilot license issue,he said the ministry had taken the matter seriously and had arrested 16 persons and three DGCA employees in related cases.

To make the pilot exams more transparent,DGCA was mulling conducting online tests.Its syllabus and a detailed question bank would be prepared and published on DGCA website soon.

A Rs 350 crore plan for modernisation of DGCA has been prepared and submitted to the government,he said.

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The public sector carrier Air India had incurred Rs 13,000 core loss in the last two years alone,he added.