The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will audit India's aviation safety oversight standards from November 16 to 20, focusing on aircraft operations, airworthiness and personnel licensing. An official said the FAA team would conduct the audit over five days, covering the three key areas of aviation safety oversight.
India, one of the world's fastest-growing civil aviation markets, currently holds Category 1 status under the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme.
Under the IASA programme, the FAA determines whether a country's oversight of airlines operating or seeking to operate flights to the US, or codesharing with US carriers, meets the safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The programme assesses a country's ability to comply with international aviation safety standards and recommended practices relating to personnel licensing, aircraft operations and airworthiness.
At present, Air India is the only Indian carrier operating direct flights to US cities. Category 1 status is a key recognition of a country's aviation safety oversight standards. India retained this status in the previous FAA audit.
Under the IASA programme, the FAA audited the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) from October 25 to 29, 2021, covering aircraft operations, airworthiness and personnel licensing.
The assessment was followed by final consultations on April 25 and 26 last year. The FAA subsequently conducted reviews in July and September 2022, with the outcome of the audit announced in April 2023.
Last year, India witnessed one of its worst aviation accidents when an Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft bound for London Gatwick crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people.
This year, there have also been several helicopter accidents and a few other incidents.
In January 2014, the FAA downgraded India to Category 2 status. The country regained Category 1 status in 2015 after taking the necessary corrective steps.
In December 2012, the ICAO conducted an audit of the DGCA and raised two Significant Safety Concerns (SSCs) in the areas of aircraft operations and airworthiness.
The concerns were resolved and validated by the ICAO in August 2013.
Following the identification of the SSCs, the FAA raised concerns over the DGCA's safety oversight capabilities and audited the regulator under the IASA programme in September 2013.
A follow-up assessment was conducted in December 2013, before India was downgraded to Category 2 status in January 2014.
The DGCA subsequently took corrective measures to address the issues, following which India regained Category 1 status.
(With inputs from PTI)