The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has issued safety standards for ground handling service providers . Photo: dgca.gov.in

Aviation watchdog DGCA has come out with safety standards for ground handling service providers at airports, including the compulsory safety clearance requirement, as part of efforts to ensure safe ground operations amid rising air traffic.

The norms also come against the backdrop of ground incidents at some airports that have resulted in damage to aircraft.

Regulation for Ground Handling Service Providers

The new Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), prepared after detailed consultations, will strengthen the oversight mechanism, the DGCA said in a release on July 10.

It also specifies the training and competency requirements of ground personnel who are part of ground operations at the airports.

Ground Handling Service Providers (GHSPs) are required to obtain safety clearance within six months from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The six-month time period is from July 8, when the CAR was issued by the regulator.

“The robust safety mechanism to be implemented prospectively by GHSPs would help in prevention and mitigation of ground incidents at the airport thereby enhancing the quality of services rendered in safety-sensitive functions,” the release said.

Under the new norms, GHSPs are required to appoint accountable managers, station managers and safety managers. Among other requirements, ground personnel have to undergo recurrent training.

Increase in aircraft movements in India

Taking into account the phenomenal growth of aircraft movements, a corresponding increase in complexity of ground operations and the proliferation of third-party ground handling services, the DGCA said it has become imperative to establish safety standards for GHSPs involved in ground operations of aircraft at Indian airports, an area which was hitherto uncovered under any existing regulations.

Larger aircraft, an increase in ground support equipment and faster turnarounds all contribute to the challenge of improving operational safety.

With the growth of air traffic and the proliferation of third-party ground handling services, ground operations on airport aprons have become increasingly complex and potentially hazardous, the DGCA said.

Reasons for regulation

Apron areas are often the most congested and busiest areas of an airport with aircraft turnarounds being carried out under limited space and time constraints.

“Unlike other areas of the aviation industry, the ground handling sector is currently not subjected to the level of regulation in areas such as flight operations, air traffic management and aerodrome operations.

Therefore, it has become necessary to develop the requirements to achieve operational safety at airports for aircraft operations,” the regulator said.

India is one of the world’s fastest-growing civil aviation markets and airlines are expanding their fleets.

In a shocking incident, two Indonesian pilots of Batik Air fell asleep for around half an hour mid-flight, with passengers onboard, as per a report in the Guardian. The pilot and co-pilot slept at the same time for roughly 28 minutes. As per the preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), on January 25, the Batik Air flight was its route from South East Sulawesi to Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia.

Although there were several navigational errors as a result of the incident, the two-hour and thirty-five-minute flight did not result in any injuries to the Airbus A320’s 153 passengers or four flight attendants.

Transport Ministry’s Civil Aviation Director-General M Kristi Endah Murni, stated that the ministry “strongly reprimands” Batik Air for the incident and urged airlines to be more mindful of their aircrew’s rest time. An investigation is also being launched by the ministry.

As per the report, the second-in-command pilot had notified his co-pilot earlier in the day that he did not get “proper rest.” The captain requested permission from his second-in-command to take a short break about ninety minutes after takeoff, and the request was approved. The investigation stated that once the co-pilot assumed control of the aircraft, he unintentionally slept off as well. “The second-in-command had one-month-old twin babies. His wife took care of the babies and he assisted while at home,” the report said.

The Jakarta Area Control Centre (ACC) attempted to contact the aircraft twelve minutes following the co-pilot’s last known transmission, but the pilots did not respond, according to the ACC. Around 28 minutes after the last recorded transmission, the pilot-in-command woke up and realised the plane was not on the proper flying route. According to the report, he then woke up the second-in-command and responded to the ACC. The pilot-in-command informed the ACC that there had been a “radio communication problem” during the flight, but that it had been fixed.

The report identified the pilot-in-command as a 32-year-old male Indonesian, and the second-in-command as a 28-year-old male Indonesian, but did not disclose the names of the pilots.

The flight, BTK6723, landed safely and no injuries were reported. As per the standard operating procedure, the flight crews have also been grounded till further investigation is conducted.

Batik Air said in a statement that it “operates with adequate rest policy” and that it was “committed to implement all safety recommendations”. It added the pilots have been suspended.