CPI MP writes to Scindia, raises concern over safety conditions of airlines

CPI MP Binoy Viswam has written to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia raising concern over the "woeful and dire" safety conditions of airlines following a slew of incidents reported over the last few weeks.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show-cause notice on Wednesday to SpiceJet after its planes had eight technical malfunctions over the past 18 days.

Like SpiceJet, IndiGo and Vistara also suffered technical malfunction incidents on Tuesday.

Viswam urged the minister to ensure a "comprehensive review" of airlines across the country and that there is no compromise on the safety of passengers.

"This letter is written regarding the woeful and dire safety conditions in which airlines are currently operating in the country," he said.

The Left leader said there have been several safety incidents and emergency landings that has happened in the past few months.

"There have been around 21 mid-air safety incidents across different airlines, out of which 10 of them have occurred in the last month alone," he said.

"Along with this, multiple airlines have faced malfunctions such as non-operation of air conditioning which led to suffocation of passengers with medical conditions. Such a sorry state of affairs is unpardonable and creates tensions among the already apprehensive population regarding air travel," he added.

He alleged that these issues are a "stark reminder that a meagre 4% of the population use air travel, placing India alongside some poorer African countries, in terms of the per capita consumption of air tickets."

"The rising burden of airline with increasing cost of aviation fuel, further casts doubt in our mind regarding the compromise of safety procedures as a cost-cutting measure," the CPI leader said.

This, however, cannot be treated as an excuse to comprise on passenger safety, he asserted.

"In the light of the above, I urge you to ensure a comprehensive review and audit of airlines across the country. The safety and well-being of passengers cannot be comprised under any circumstances," he said.