DGCA’s new medical test rule alarms airlines, pilots

A change in rule by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for holding medical tests of pilots has alarmed Indian airlines.

Last week, the civil aviation regulator mandated that medical examinations for commercial pilots will be conducted only at centres of the Indian Air Force. This is against an earlier directive allowing such medical tests at private hospitals and medical examiners empanelled by the regulator.

DGCA regulations stipulate all pilots to undergo periodic medical examinations which includes an extensive list.

Senior officials at the regulator said the change was made following the death of an airline co-pilot due to cardiac arrest after completing a flight. During investigation, DGCA found that the pilot had existing cardiac issues which the airline wasn’t aware about. “We felt that there was a change required for the process as there was suspicion that a few were falsifying records to pass their medicals,” the official said.

However, airline executives have raised alarm saying that the standards required for military pilots are vastly different and more stringent from those operating commercial flights. Also, due to limited resources at IAF, the process has become time consuming and may disrupt flight schedules due to unavailability of pilots.

“The air force does not have the mandate and cannot keep increasing its manpower and infrastructure requirements to meet the civil aviation requirements,” an airline official said.

Airline executives fear that due to the high standards of the military, many pilots will be declared medically unfit, leading to a shortage of pilots and increased insurance coverage for airlines.

“Worldwide, India remains the only country which has not severed the cord from the defence establishments for civil pilot medicals; the philosophy and requirements in clearing the pilots for both the civil and defence are very different, hence the need to separate from defence was felt by all countries,” the official added.

DGCA rules mandate additional tests like ultrasound, tread mill test, and some biochemical tests for pilots in India which multiple foreign regulators including the Federal Aviation Administration of USA or the European Union Aviation Safety Agency do not require.

“Military doctors follow their standard and the practical aspects of commercial operations and therefore, pilots are often evaluated to the same demanding standards as required of mission-ready fighter pilots. This invariably results in such doctors referring commercial pilots for extensive and unnecessary secondary medical tests through external agencies that are often cumbersome and expensive,” said the Federation of Indian Pilots, which counts more than 5,000 pilots as its members.

“With India becoming the third-largest domestic aviation market in the world, after the US and China, the assumption is that India will require more than 30,000 pilots over the next few years. It is imperative that the process is looked at and revised at the earliest,” a pilot said.