Domestic airlines reported 2,613 significant technical snags in last 5 years: Union Aviation Minister V K Singh

When asked whether the use of old aircraft was the main reason for technical snags, the minister replied in the negative

Domestic airlines reported 2,613 significant technical snags in their planes in the last five years, Union minister V K Singh told the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The Minister of State for Civil Aviation said the regulations require occurrences relating to system and component failure to be reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

"These occurrences, based on their severity are investigated either by the concerned airlines under the supervision of the DGCA or by the DGCA under Rule 13(1) of the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017," he said in a written reply.

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Giving details, Singh said there were a total of 2,613 "significant technical snags" reported by various airlines in the country during the 2018-2022 period.

In this period, IndiGo reported 885 snags, SpiceJet (691), Vistara (444), Air India (399), AirAsia (India) Ltd (79), Go Air (54), TruJet (30), Alliance Air (13), Blue Dart Aviation (7), Akasa Air (6) and Fly Big (5), as per the reply.

AirAsia (India) has been renamed as AIX Connect and Go Air as Go First.

To a query on whether the use of old aircraft is the main reason for technical snags, the minister replied in the negative.

"Aircraft is considered airworthy provided the maintenance is as per approved schedule laid down by the manufacturer. Aircraft registered in India may operate as long as the aircraft is under maintenance support provided by manufacturer for the continuous operation of the aircraft.

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"No aircraft can fly without having a valid Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC) issued by the DGCA," he said.

In a separate written reply, the minister said the DGCA conducted 91 planned surveillance inspection of airports in 2022 and 7 planned surveillance inspection of airports till January 31, 2023.

The regulator conducts surveillance inspection of airports and seeks compliance of Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) from the aerodrome operator.

The Level-I (significant) and Level-II (non-significant) findings/ observations are communicated to the aerodrome operator for the corrective action and compliance of the same is ensured by the DGCA.

The minister, in another written reply, said that "a few complaints against airline/airport operators for not providing adequate protocol facilitation to Hon'ble Members of Parliament have been received".

Airlines and airports operators are apprised from time to time to comply with the guidelines issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) regarding protocol/ courtesy/ facilitation to be extended to the Members of Parliament at civil aerodromes/civil enclaves in the country.