Bill to amend aircraft act introduced in LS

nNEW DELHI: The central government introduced a bill to amend the Aircraft Act, 1934, in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, proposing to increase the fine for violations from ~10 lakh to up to ~1 crore.

The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 also aims to grant powers to the Centre to issue directions to review, if necessary in public interest, any order passed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). Besides, it seeks to bring regulations of all areas of air navigation services under the purview of the Act.

The bill, introduced by minister of state for parliamentary affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Lower House, also provides for keeping “aircraft belonging to any armed forces of the Union, other than naval, from military or air force outside the purview” of the law.

In December 2019, the Union cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the introduction of the Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

“The amendments would fulfil the requirements for International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). This will enable the three regulatory bodies in the Civil Aviation sector in India, namely Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau to become more effective, which will lead to enhancement in the level of safety and security of aircraft operations in the country,” the cabinet statement in December had said.

The Act has also specified provisions for securing the safety of aircraft operations in India and carrying out civil aviation operations as per standards, procedures and practices laid down by the ICAO.

The ICAO, a United Nation’s global aviation watchdog, carried out the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme for India in November 2017 and in February 2018.

The audit result showed that the country’s score declined to 57.44% from 65.82% earlier, placing India below Pakistan and Nepal.

An ICAO team had also visited India in November 2018 and assessed the action taken on issues related to three areas that were audited by the ICAO in November 2015 pertaining to aerodromes and ground aids, air navigation services (ANS) and aircraft accident and incident investigation.