Indian aviation safety rankings jump to 48 in international group’s report

NEW DELHI: India has been ranked among the top 50 countries of the world in terms of comprehensive safety audits conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), said the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday.

Speaking to ANI, Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar said, “We have done well. Now the challenge lies in retaining the newfound status. The DGCA is a bunch of extremely competent officials and we are confident that given proper support, we will improve further.” He said that it is a great achievement in terms of ranking as they have jumped from the 102nd rank four years ago to the 48th spot this year.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had last month audited the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to check its effective implementation (El) of critical safety elements. He added that formal communication from ICAO is still awaited, but with this score, India stands among countries with high levels of aviation safety.

Under the International Civil Aviation Organisation, Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach, an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) was undertaken from November 9-16, 2022. The Indian aviation safety has scored the highest ever El score of 85.49 per cent, which puts India in the 48th spot. In 2018, India scored 69.95 per cent at the 102nd rank.

A senior DGCA official said that India has performed better than China which stands in 49th rank in the audit. Israel has been ranked 50th. The audit was conducted in the areas of – Legislation, Organisation, Personal Licencing, Operations, Airworthiness and Aerodromes. Teams from the UN agency went to Delhi Airport; IGI Airport air traffic control; Airport Authority of India’s communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) wing.

The ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) focuses on a state’s capability in providing safety oversight by assessing whether the State has implemented the critical elements (CEs) of a safety oversight system effectively and consistently. This enables the State to ensure the implementation of ICAO’s safety-related Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and associated procedures and guidance material. In addition, it provides ICAO with a means to monitor continuously the States’ fulfillment of their safety oversight obligations.

The Indian civil aviation sector is recovering after being severely impacted by Covid-19, and is regaining lost momentum. (ANI)