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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) carried out an extensive range of safety audits, inspections and surveillance checks across the aviation sector in 2025, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Mohol said that as part of planned surveillance activities during the year, the aviation regulator conducted 3,890 surveillance inspections and 56 regulatory audits. In addition, 84 surveillance checks of foreign aircraft (SOFA) were undertaken, along with 492 ramp checks to ensure compliance with safety and operational standards. Responding to queries about recurring technical or operational deficiencies, the Minister said that since January 2025, a total of 377 aircraft have been identified with recurring defects. These aircraft were part of a combined fleet of 754 aircraft operated by various scheduled airlines. Airline-wise details of these findings, as on February 3, have been provided separately in an annexure, he added. In addition to planned activities, the DGCA conducted numerous unplanned surveillance measures. These included 874 spot checks and 550 night surveillance checks, aimed at monitoring airline operations and maintenance practices without prior notice. Regarding manpower shortages at the DGCA, the government said the number of sanctioned technical posts has been significantly increased. In 2022, the DGCA had 637 sanctioned technical posts. To address future requirements and strengthen regulatory oversight, the restructuring exercise has raised the number of sanctioned technical posts to 1,063. The government also highlighted steps taken to strengthen real-time monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. The DGCA has issued Surveillance and Enforcement Division Circular No. 1/2025, dated July 7, 2025, mandating the use of the eGCA portal for all surveillance activities. The portal is to be used for issuance and closure of Deficiency Reporting Forms (CA-2001) as well as enforcement orders. Replying to a question on air connectivity, the Minister said that as per the Winter Schedule 2025, no scheduled domestic airline has proposed to operate flights to or from Singrauli Airport. The detailed surveillance procedures followed by the DGCA are laid down in the DGCA Surveillance Procedure Manual, which is available on the regulator's official website, the Minister added. (ANI)
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