Surge in air travel, staff issues spur epidemic of technical snags

NEW DELHI: Air traffic in the Indian skies has returned to normalcy with airports buzzing with a large number of footfalls in the last couple of months.

Air traffic data has rightly shown that passengers carried by domestic airlines saw a growth of 66.73 per cent from 343.37 lakh to 572.49 lakh in the January to June period, as compared to the previous year.

However, growth in air traffic has apparently brought a lot of turbulence as planes have witnessed an unusually large number of technical glitches related occurrences and a rising number of such incidents have left the fliers harried.

Shockingly, technical glitches in flights are not limited to one or two airlines. Most of the Indian carriers, including the largest player IndiGo, SpiceJet, Go First or Air India Express, have been plagued by technical snags over the last one month.

Multiple incidents were reported to have occurred on aircraft operated by Indian carriers over the last few days owing to engine snags, burning smell, pressurisation loss in cabin to a bird entering the airplane cockpit.

A top DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) official said that improper identification of cause of a reported defect and non-availability of required certifying staff to cater to multiple arrivals and departure of flights in short intervals are the main reasons behind such snags.

Explaining about the procedure, the official said that before every flight takes off, a licenced aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) inspects the aircraft and releases it if everything is in order.

There are various categories of AME licences, and the Category A licence is given to technicians who are permitted to maintain the aircraft under certain limits. The Category B licence is more specialised and equip AMEs to deal with intricate components, such as engines, wings, etc.

"Spot checks disclosed that airlines were not adhering to the laid down standards and they were not posting the relevant qualified engineers at all the stations with the Category A licence holders releasing aircraft at some of the smaller airports," said the official. (IANS)

Also Read:  Mid Air Robbery: Over $10K Robbed From Two Passengers During Mid-Flight

Also Watch: