The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) has written an open letter to the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) warning of potentially lethal consequences if Air India does not retire some of its older Airbus A320, of which many are over 25 years.
“The … A320 aircraft which are [some] of the oldest in the world are being operated with repetitive snags endangering flight safety,” asserted ICPA in the document. “DGCA should not permit Air India to operate these lethal snag-prone … aircraft in lieu of passenger safety,” it added.
ICPA is also concerned about pilot hours at Air India and has asked the DCGA to clarify the minimum time before scheduled departure that a pilot must report for flying at airports. The body also wants the DGCA to enact regulations for available pilot hours that take into account entitled leave, mandatory training time and other entitlements that could affect that amount.