India
had its airline-safety ranking downgraded by the U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration after the South Asian nation failed to
find enough officials to ensure safe operation of flights, putting the country
on a par with Zimbabwe and Indonesia.
Other
countries may follow suit with their own restrictions, hurting expansion plans
at Jet
Airways (India) Ltd. (JETIN) and Air India Ltd., and that
increased scrutiny may also cause delays. Indian authorities will hire 75
flight operation inspectors and provide training to more people to win back the
rating, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said Jan.
31.
The
FAA cut the grade to Category 2 from Category 1 after a review of India’s aviation
regulator revealed that its safety oversight processes don’t meet global
standards. The starting of new carriers and billions of dollars in new aircraft
orders meant the world’s second-most populous nation couldn’t employ enough
people to monitor safety, Singh said.
The
FAA found deficiencies at India’s Directorate General of
Civil Aviation in December 2012, according to a statement from the U.S.
regulator. It again held consultations with the DGCA and Indian ministries last
year and in January. India had won the Category 1 rating in 1997.
The
DGCA struggled to find adequate staff because of the rapid expansion of
carriers, Singh said in New Delhi Jan. 31.
The
downgrade occurs against a backdrop of some tensions in the U.S.-India
relationship, including the spat over the arrest of an Indian diplomat in New
York. The FAA move could hurt expansion plans of Indian carriers as other
countries may follow suit with their own restrictions, said Amber Dubey, the India head of aerospace and defense
at KPMG.
Japan’s
Civil Aviation Authority will talk to the FAA and Indian officials before
arriving at any decision, Shigeru Takano, the agency’s director in charge of
air transport safety, said by telephone on 2 February.
The
FAA move is of “significant interest” to the European Union, though there isn’t
any direct link between the EU safety list and the U.S. program, the European
Commission said. Indian carriers’ operations are monitored through the Safety
Assessment of Foreign Aircraft program, and there is no immediate or major
concerns regarding their safety, it said.
The
U.S. move could mean heightened surveillance at airports in that country for
Indian flights, which could impact airline schedules, said Kapil
Kaul, the South Asia head at CAPA Centre
for Aviation.
State-owned
Air India operates about 21 services to the U.S. The carrier is set to join the
Star Alliance later this year. The FAA decision isn’t likely to affect this
plan, Singh said. Air India spokesman G.P. Rao
declined to comment.
Jet
Airways, which sold a stake to Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways PJSC after India
eased aviation investment rules, operates seven flights to the U.S. United
Airlines said hours after the FAA announcement that it’s suspending a marketing
agreement with Jet Airways.
India
has been working to support the growth of its aviation market, where passenger
numbers are forecast to triple to more than 450 million by 2020. The government
eased rules in September 2012 to allow foreign airlines to invest in local
carriers and also spent billions of dollars to upgrade more than a dozen
airports.
Under
the International Convention on Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago
Convention, each country is responsible for the safety oversight of its own
carriers, according to the FAA website. The agency
assesses the civil aviation authorities of nations that have airlines operating
to the U.S. to determine whether their oversight meets global standards.
The
FAA program focuses on a country’s ability, and not an individual airline’s, to
adhere to the standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and
maintenance set up by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United
Nations agency.