India's aviation industry not mature: DGCA

NEW DELHI: Dubbing the country's civil aviation industry as "not mature enough" at this point of time, the DGCA today sternly shot down the suggestion of some airlines that the compliance of regulations should be handed over to the carriers.

Noting that there were problems in the sector and not just for the airlines, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief M Sathiyavathy said the regulator would also play the role of facilitator.

"The (domestic aviation) industry is not so mature...It will be premature to hand over all compliance (related matters) to the industry and leaving the DGCA to focus just on oversight," she said.

During an aviation conference here today, some airlines had indicated that sector was over regulated and sought the compliance of regulations to be left with the carriers and the DGCA should adhere to oversight.

Vistara CEO Phee Teik Yeoh, during a panel discussion, said cost as well as ease of doing business were the key challenges faced by the carriers operating in India.

"Cost of doing business is already weighing down (carriers) even before they start competing," he noted.

In an apparent reference to regulatory hurdles in India, he said, some friends have been asking him whether he lost hair after coming here.

At her witty best, Sathiyavathy responded to his remarks saying he might have lost his hair in Singapore but not in India.

Vistara, a full service carrier to enter the Indian aviation space recently, is a joint venture of Singapore Airlines and Tatas.

"I have been seeing him for the past one-and-a-half years... He (might have) lost his hair in Singapore, not here," Sathiyavathy said in a lighter vein, eliciting a peel of laughter from the audience.

She also listed out measures that were being taken to ensure that the domestic aviation sector meets global standards after the US watchdog Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) upgraded India's safety rating this April.

Sathiyavathy also said the DGCA has already completed recertification of six airline and for the rest the process would be over in 4-5 months.

As far as ensuring the compliance on the part of all flying training schools, she said, the process of certification is expected to be completed by March next year.