Flight safety regulation needs reform at the top

From financial and administrative autonomy to hiring practices, there are many areas where DGCA needs a serious rethink

- Anjuli Bhargava

Post the Air India crash in June, India’s civil aviation regulator, the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA), the airlines it regulates, and their safety practices, have all been facing intense public scrutiny in Parliament and in the media.

Every minor development in the civil aviation sector is now being dissected, leading to paranoia creeping into the minds of the ordinary flyer.

Recently, on a flight from the national capital to Goa, a woman seated next to me prayed for such a long time at takeoff that I thanked her for praying on behalf of both of us. Ever since she saw the video of the June crash, she said, she prays harder than she did earlier upon boarding an aircraft — which, she added, is thankfully not often. In a gesture of warmth one comes across while travelling in India, she insisted on sharing some of her homemade food with me.

Thanks to the enhanced scrutiny, two things have become very clear: One, the functioning of DGCA needs a dramatic overhaul, which this writer has thoroughly discussed in these pages even before the accident. And two, airlines need to adopt a more proactive approach to violations and transgressions by their staff, many of which are a direct threat to passenger safety, as highlighted in reports of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).