Cargo sector has registered a phenomenal growth, says Civil Aviation Minister

“During the current year, cargo sector has registered a phenomenal growth of 10% over the previous year”, said Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Ashok Gajapathi Raju while Chairing the meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Safety Measure in Civil Aviation Sector here today. He informed the Members that the Government has a plan to create a “Civil Aviation Authority of India” in place of DGCA to ensure efficiency in its procedures with ease of recruitment of skilled manpower. It will strengthen the system’s ability to cope with emerging safety challenges of the growth of the sector in the long run. He added DGCA has issued various regulations for carrying out India’s obligation to the Chicago Convention and advisories to the industry regarding election flying, seasonal helicopter operations, real time tracking of the aircrafts etc. In accordance with the standard and recommended practices of ICAO, DGCA has developed State Safety Programme for India which is available on DGCA website. In accordance with the ICAO SARPs, India has also established State Safety Programme which is to be implemented in the phased manner. As part of Phase III implementation, DGCA has established seven key State safety priorities i.e. Airborne conflict, Controlled flight into terrain, Runway excursions and overruns, Wildlife and bird strikes, Loss of control in flight, Ground collisions and ramp safety and deficient maintenance. To meet the safety target for the years 2015 and 2016, safety action plan has been developed in association with the stake holders.