Indian aviation meets international standards, retains Category 1 status: US' Federal Aviation Administration

By Saurabh Trivedi

New Delhi [India], April 12 : Based on positive outcomes of the assessment and follow-ups, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the US informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Wednesday that India meets the international standards for aviation safety oversight of the Chicago Convention and its Annexes, and continues to retain FAA IASA Category 1 status.

FAA, under its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme, conducted an audit of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) from October 25 to 29, 2021, in the areas covering aircraft operations, airworthiness and personnel licensing. The IASA assessment was followed by final consultations on April 25-26, 2022, and further review by FAA in July 2022 and September 2022.

FAA has stated that DGCA has demonstrated a commitment towards ensuring an effective safety oversight of India's aviation system and appreciated the positive manner in which DGCA has worked with them, said DGCA in a statement.

India's Category 1 determination has come at a time when the Indian aviation is on a high growth trajectory and air carriers in India have major capacity induction and expansion plans. Air carriers of Category 1 countries are permitted to operate or expand their services to destinations in the US and code-share with US air carriers.

India in the recent International Civil Aviation Orgzation (ICAO) audit in November 2022 has scored an Effective Implementation (EI) of 85.65 per cent from the previous EI of 69.95 per cent, thereby enhancing its global ranking significantly. The assessment by ICAO as well as FAA is a testimony to India's commitment of having effective safety oversight for its civil aviation system.

US' Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), under its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme, determines whether a country's oversight of its air carriers that operate, or seek to operate, into the US, or codeshare with a US air carrier, complies with safety standards established by ICAO.

According to the statement, the IASA programme focuses on a country's ability to adhere to international aviation Safety Standards and Recommended Practices contained in Annex 1 (Personnel Licensing), Annex 6 (Operation of Aircraft), and Annex 8 (Airworthiness of Aircraft) to the International Convention on Civil Aviation "Chicago Convention".