Plea in Delhi HC against 1-yr notice period rule of DGCA
NEW DELHI: A plea was on Thursday moved in the Delhi High Court challenging the DGCA'S decision that senior pilots have to serve a 12-month notice period before quitting an airline and shifting to another.
The petition by the Indian Pilots Guild, representing senior Air India pilots who operate widebody aircraft, was mentioned before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra for an urgent hearing on Friday.
The bench, however, said there was no urgency in the matter and it will be listed for hearing in the normal course.
The petition, mentioned by advocate Kaushiq, challenges the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) rules announced on August 16 saying that pilots shall give a notice period of at least one year in respect of commanders and six months in respect of co-pilots, to the employer. The notice period, however, may be reduced if the air transport undertaking provides a no-objection certificate to a pilot and accepts his resignation earlier than the period stipulated in the amended rules, as per the amended Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR).
"During the notice period, neither the pilot shall refuse to undertake the flight duties assigned to him, nor shall the employer deprive the pilot of his legitimate rights and privileges with respect to the assignment of his duties," the DGCA had said on August 16.
The DGCA had mooted the proposal of one-year notice period in May after various domestic airlines, under the banner of Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), had urged it to increase the notice period to one year arguing that they put in a lot of time and effort on training them.
Various domestic pilots' bodies had, however, opposed the proposal on the ground that it was "exploitative" as longer notice period would mean airlines can be "vindictive" to those quitting. NEW DELHI: The DGCA has asked Pratt & Whitney to expedite the supply of engines to India as many of the A320 neo planes operated by Indigo and Goair have been grounded due to issues related to its engines, a senior official said on Thursday.
The P&W engines powering these aircraft have been facing issues related to bearing and combustion.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) earlier this month reviewed the progress made by P&W in fixing the engine issues during a meeting which was attended by representatives from the US engine maker, aircraft major Airbus as well as from Indigo and Goair.
The progress made by P&W to fix the issues of No 3 bearing failure and combustion chamber failure on PW1100 engine leading to grounding of A320 neo planes was discussed at the meeting.
“If India is giving you (P&W) so much business, when the new engines come, (DGCA has asked them that) you allocate it to India and that they have promised. By end of September, they will bring things to normal,” a senior DGCA official said on Thursday. Eight A320 neo (new engine option) air-
Various domestic pilots' bodies had opposed the proposal on the ground that it was "exploitative" as longer notice period would mean airlines can be "vindictive" to those quitting
craft of Indigo that are powered by P&W engines are grounded while one or two operated by Goairs are also grounded, he said.
Indigo and Goair have placed large orders for A320 neo planes. The DGCA will be getting an update from P&W in October about the progress in fixing the engine issues, the official said.
He said there is “no safety issue” with regard to P&W engines but if many planes are getting grounded, then the integrity of schedule of airlines gets affected.
When asked about P&W engine issues, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said anything like that becomes an element of concern since engines are important in an aircraft.
“There is no immediate danger as such...even P&W is saying that they are going to improve on it. Let's see,” the minister said.
In March, the watchdog had asked the leading engine maker to fix the issues related to its engines powering A320 neo planes flown by the Indian carriers within a specified time.
A month earlier, the regulator had also directed Indigo and Goair to conduct inspections of the P&W engines once they complete 1,000 hours of flying, instead of 1,500 hours as recommended by the engine maker.
Further, the DGCA had sought repeat inspections every 500 hours thereafter. These directions had come after multiple incidents involving A320 neo planes, including emergency landings, due to problems with P&W engines.