Herald Publications; VASCO, OCT 22
Is Dabolim airport – an international hub – operating without a licence? A report by TV news channel CNN-IBN, says that more than 60 airports in India, many of them major international hubs, including Goa, are running without valid licences.
Other major unlicenced international airports include Chennai, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad, which operate hundreds of domestic and international flights a day.
The Aircraft Rules Act requires that no aerodrome shall use a regular place of landing and departure unless it has been licenced for the purpose.
Aerodrome licencing is required by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to regulate safety standards. But information obtained by CNN-IBN through the Right to Information (RTI) Act found that out of the country’s 12 major international airports, seven – including Goa, Chennai, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad – are not licenced, despite the DGCA’s stand that international airports should get priority in licencing.
Only 16 of the 87 airports that handle passenger and cargo traffic in the country have valid licences, even though International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidelines require that all aerodromes used for international operations had to be licenced by 2003.
Apart from safety considerations, experts say insurance companies can deny insurance in case a crash occurs at an unlicenced airport.
In June, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had stated that licencing of 40 airports was underway, and the delay was due to time-consuming and voluminous data involved in the licencing procedure.
Sources in the DGCA say, however, that the licencing process – begun in 2004 – was abandoned owing to shortage of manpower. Both AAI and DGCA maintain that operations at unlicenced airports are not compromised in any way in terms of safety.
But expert rules are rules, and a regulatory body like the DGCA needs strictly follow them and make timely inspections, so that all stakeholders are more comfortable with operations in this high-risk sector.
Despite repeated efforts, Dabolim Airport Director D Paul Manickam was not available for comments.
A highly placed source in the Airport Authority of India has, however, admitted that Dabolim International Airport has been functioning without a valid aerodrome licence.
“The Dabolim airport is dually operated airport as the airfield is managed by the Navy. As such, the Navy should also co-operate with the AAI in securing the aerodrome licence,” the official said.
“The Dabolim airport has given its compliance before the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), but this is a time consuming process,” the official added.
The official said AAI has its own internal mechanism to ensure operations at the airport.
“For instance, chartered aircraft are not supposed to land in a military airport, but despite that, there has been a mechanism worked out to permit these flights at Dabolim airport.”
“Similarly, an aerodrome licence is nothing but fine tuning in the safety process of the airport’s operation,” the official added
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