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Benefit to 2 airlines leads to conflict of interest claims
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) circular, put on hold on account of a few contrroversial provisions, primarily evoked criticism because of the conflict of interest involved. The circular was issued by Captain Ajay Singh in his capacity as DGCA’s chief flight operations inspector, and put several stumbling blocks before airlines like IndiGo, Vistara, AirAsia, SpiceJet, GoAir, TruJet etc which send their pilots abroad for training..But it would not have affected two carriers, Jet Airways and Air India, as both these airlines have their own training facilities in India where they train their pilots.
The circular sparked a controversy as Captain Singh was employed with Jet Airways from 1998 to 2014, after which he joined the DGCA on contract. As is the case with all DGCA flight operations inspectors (FOI) who have come from airlines, once their DGCA contract expires, Capt Singh too will most likely go back to Jet Airways. Other than this, currently , like the other FOIs, he only operates flights occasionally for his airline so as to keep his licence current, a practice sanctioned by the DGCA.
“We do have ground to suspect that Capt Singh might have issued the circular to stifle Jet’s rivals,” said an airline official, who had taken the matter up with the director general.
“Also, why have the 129 Indian aircraft charter companies, most of whom also send their pilots abroad for training, not been included in the circular?” the official asked Capt Singh, when contacted, said, “This is a circular issued with the approval of the DG.”
Responding to a questionnaire sent by TOI, Jet Airways said Capt Singh was not associated with them currently. When asked if it was likely that he would join Jet after his tenure with the DGCA expired, the airline replied in the affirma tive. The airline also confirmed that Capt Singh operated flights for Jet Airways occasionally to keep his licence current.
The circular has its plus points, though. For one, it would keep an eye on Commercial Pilot Licence holders who self-fund their A320 or Boeing 737 training programmes so as to better their chances of getting an airline job. “They might cut costs and go to countries where the regulators are lax and training shoddy . Such a circular would check such practices,” said a source.
Indian carriers, on the other hand, send their pilots to simulator training centres at Dubai, the UK, the US, and Singapore, among others, all of which follow a training programme certified by the aviation regulators of these countries.
The case has exposed the vulnerability of the DGCA, whose top brass consists of government officials who do not possess an indepth knowledge of aircraft and flying.The regulator then is forced to rely on airlines to provide it with experienced pilots. Wendell Smallwood Authentic Jersey
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