DGCA inspection finds lapses in Air India's internal safety audits
DGCA) has found lapses in internal safety audits of Air India and the regulator is probing the matter, according to officials. When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said that all airlines are subject to regular safety audits by regulators and other bodies.
«Air India actively engages in such audits to continually assess and strengthen our processes,» the spokesperson said in a statement and added that the airline directly addresses any matters raised with the authority concerned.
According to the inspection report submitted to the DGCA, the airline was supposed to carry out regular safety spot checks in various areas of operations such as cabin surveillance, cargo, ramp and load but during a random inspection of 13 safety points, the team found that the airline prepared false reports in all 13 cases.
«Moreover, when cross-verified with CCTV, recordings, auditee statements, shift register documents, GD (General Declaration) list, passenger manifest etc, it is understood that all the aforesaid 13 spot checks shown to be carried out in stations Mumbai, Goa and Delhi were verified and were established to have not been actually performed,» the two-member team said in the 'Deficiency Reporting Form' (DRF).
