New Delhi:
After a report by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that most airlines are unsafe, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has said that ministry will not have any tolerance for airlines that violate safety norms.
"There are some concerns about safety and there is not going to be any compromise on that. That's DGCA's job, they continuously monitor and pull up those airlines where they see there could be a problem," said Mr Singh.
"I haven't seen the details because the DGCA does its job continuously. All I can say is that the ministry will not have any tolerance for any violation of safety norms," he added.
The DGCA report, which has been accessed by NDTV, points to serious safety concerns among almost all the leading airlines in the country like IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways, GoAir, Alliance Air and JetLite. They have been slammed by the DGCA for issues like non-reporting of incidents, lack of pilots, proper and regular training, absence of qualified safety officials and non-compliance of safety audits.
A financial surveillance carried out by the regulator found widespread sickness in the sector. Noting that this was seriously impacting safety of flight operations, it recommended action against them under the Aircraft Rules and Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs).
The airlines have been given time till next week to come up with time-bound plans to rectify and resolve the problems identified in the financial audit.
The aviation regulator had also come down heavily on Kingfisher and Air India Express for ignoring safety requirements.
On Kingfisher, the report said, "A reasonable case exists for withdrawal of their (Kingfisher's) airline operator permit as their financial stress is likely to impinge on safety."
Regarding Air India Express, it said, "A prima facie case exists for restricting their operations in view of safety issues."
The report is also understood to have rapped IndiGo for suppressing information on aircraft incidents, which are minor accidents that do not cause major damage to aircraft or lead to injury or fatality.
(With PTI inputs)