India’s aviation growth outpaces safety net, warns parliamentary committee

India’s aviation boom is racing far ahead of its safety net, warns a parliamentary committee. The committee cautions that aircraft are being inducted faster than airports can expand — a dangerous mismatch that is “straining safety margins and degrading service quality”.

The department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, chaired by JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, tabled a report on Wednesday. The report paints a troubling picture of regulatory paralysis at a time when the skies are getting busier than ever. It called for a National Capacity Alignment Plan to ensure airport infrastructure keeps pace with fleet expansion.

Equally stark was the finding on manpower. Nearly half of the sanctioned posts at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) — 510 of 1,063 — lie vacant. “This deficit is not a mere administrative statistic; it is a critical vulnerability at the heart of India’s safety oversight system. This occurs precisely at a time when the sector’s unprecedented growth demands more, not less, regulatory vigilance and capacity,” warned the report. The panel described the shortage as “an existential threat to the integrity of India’s aviation safety system.”

It demanded a time-bound plan to grant DGCA both financial and administrative autonomy. The crisis was rooted in “an ineffective recruitment model” that had never been corrected despite repeated red flags.

The civil aviation ministry maintains that direct recruitment by DGCA is not being considered. The report pointed to a “significant and growing backlog of unresolved safety findings”, exposing a critical weakness in the post-surveillance rectification process.

“Concerns also exist about audit quality due to a lack of qualified DGCA staff and airlines prioritising profit over immediate maintenance,” added the committee. It recommended time-bound closure of all safety deficiencies with tougher enforcement and financial penalties for non-compliance.

The committee’s scrutiny wasn’t limited to airports and airlines. In the wake of helicopter crashes, it urged a uniform national framework for state-operated helicopter services and mandatory terrain-specific training for pilots. “This is prompted by accidents in high-risk environments managed by state-level agencies with limited central oversight, revealing regulatory ambiguity creating unacceptable safety gaps,” it stated.

Recurring high-risk events like runway incursions, bird strikes, and engine failures came under sharp focus. The report called for root-cause analysis of every incident and specific remedial programs. “Key safety targets for events like runway incursions are consistently being exceeded, indicating the current incident review process fails to translate lessons learned into effective operational changes,” it noted.

Finally, the committee stressed the need for cultural change within aviation safety management, seeking a legally-backed whistle-blower protection framework. “This counters a punitive culture deterring open reporting of errors,” it said. DGCA’s voluntary reporting system requires firmer guarantees. Notably, the report makes no mention of the Air India crash on June 12 that killed 260 persons.