Arun Mishra gets one-year extension as DGCA chief: report

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief Arun Mishra has been granted a one-year extension till July next year.

"DGCA Arun Mishra, a 1986 batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre, has been given one year extension in his deputation tenure," official sources said.

His central deputation was supposed to have ended on July 25, following which he would have had to revert back to the state cadre.

The extension of his tenure came when the US aviation regulator, Federal Aviation Administration, is conducting a week-long safety audit of the aviation regulator.

Mr Mishra also oversaw the successful audit done by the United Nation's International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) last week. He had earlier served the ICAO as India's representative for two years.

As the government could not find a suitable successor in the DGCA, the civil aviation ministry had sought extension of Mr Mishra's tenure till September-end, they said.

The post of Director General of Civil Aviation requires a considerably large experience in the field. Mr Mishra had taken over as the DGCA chief in July last year, succeeding E K Bharat Bhushan.