New Delhi: The United Nations aviation watchdog has
raised a safety alarm over charter aircraft operations in India.
The Montreal-based International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) has issued significant safety concerns over aircraft
charter operations in India.
The directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) has now
formed five teams of three officers each which will review the licensing of
each of the 147 nonschedule operators here.These teams will also examine the
safety practices of these companies.
Fears over charter or nonschedule operators licensing and
their planes airworthiness arose after ICAO did an audit of the DGCA last
December.The audit report sent to Indian aviation authorities raised concerns
in areas of operations and airworthiness.It questioned the licensing process
and the process for approving modifications carried out in aircraft by the
operator.We have sent an immediate corrective plan to address ICAOs significant
safety concerns that has been accepted by them.We are aiming to complete the
verification programme of non-schedule operators before June-end, said an
official.
The DGAC teams will now examine the airworthiness of
charter companies aircraft and examine their flight safety standard.These teams
will check the preparedness of the companies crew to handle emergencies.
ICAO has expressed concern at the fact that charter
operators have got their aircraft modified from manufacturers but those changes
have not been checked and approved by the DGCA.Now all such modifications are
going to be checked and certified.
Jet-Etihad deal: India working to assuage UAE's
investments concerns; PM to visit Abu Dhabi
MUMBAI: The Indian government is moving fast to assuage
the UAE government's concerns regarding investments from that country in India,
an assurance that is seen as a crucial perquisite to successful completion of
the Jet-Etihad deal.
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh will be visiting Abu Dhabi later this month to discuss, among
other things, an investment protection treaty between the two countries. The
bilateral treaty will assure the UAE that investments made by its companies in
India will be protected from unilateral, arbitrary action. The timing of the
visit is crucial as it comes at a time talks between Etihad and Jet Airways
have been deadlocked due to concerns expressed by the foreign airline over the
safety of its investment in India's second largest airline. Etihad and the UAE
government are seeking assurances that their investment will not go the way of
Etisalat, a UAE telecom company whose licences were cancelled by the Supreme
Court last year as part of investigations into the issue of 2G telecom licences
in 2008. The two airlines have focused on the purchase of a 24% stake in Jet by
Etihad. The transaction, if successful, will help Jet pay down a part of its
debt and secure an alliance with an ambitious Middle-Eastern airline. It is not
known whether the bilateral investment protection treaty will be signed during
the prime minister's visit, though it will be an important topic of discussion.
Government and
industry officials said Etihad and the UAE government had sought written
guarantees from the government about its investments, but the government was
wary of providing something so explicit to a single industry. Minister for
Commerce, Trade and Textile Anand Sharma told ET that no written assurances
would be provided to UAE companies.
Sharma was on an
official visit to Abu Dhabi last month and is believed to have held substantial
discussions with the UAE about the investment treaty. "As a cabinet
minister, I have an India-specific discourse and not sector specific. We've
dispelled their doubts in an India-specific manner by telling them that India
as a whole is a safe investment destination. We want investment in all sectors
and, therefore, India and the UAE have in principle agreed to ink a bilateral
investment promotion and protection agreement to boost two-way trade. This
particular issue never came up like this (with specific request for written
assurance for Jet investment)," he told ET. The Etihad transaction with
Jet is part of a bigger push by the UAE government to expand economic
cooperation with India. UAE companies are believed to be willing to invest up
to $2 billion in Indian infrastructure and energy projects.
India, on the
other hand, wants higher foreign investment to increase growth opportunities
for its companies and jobs for millions of unemployed youth. Last year, the
government changed its decades-old policy to allow up to 40% foreign investment
in Indian airlines. If the deal with Jet is signed, Etihad will become the
second major foreign airline to enter India after AirAsia. "Etihad wanted
some guarantees and assurances from the Indian government," said a senior
Jet official not wanting to be identified, adding Jet was in the process of
getting these assurances.
Jet's top
management team, including its promoter, and his legal advisors are currently
in Abu Dhabi thrashing out the final deal contours. "The deal is at a very
crucial stage," a senior Jet official said. It is believed that both the
airlines have been able to iron out differences regarding board representation
and the right of first refusal. Etihad might end up with four representatives
on the Jet board and will have some measure of operational control. Mails sent
to both Jet and Etihad did not elicit a response. Last week, Jet sold three
pairs of its Heathrow (London) airport slots to Etihad Airways for $70 million.
The airline recently launched an offer for two million discounted tickets to
shore up cash and get incremental revenues. Jet has a debt burden of over Rs
13,000 crore and is in urgent need of cash infusion to keep the business
viable.
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