Indian civil aviation system jumps to 55th rank in latest ICAO audit: DGCA

The audit was done in five areas, following which India received an updated overall effective implementation (EI) of 85.65%

The Indian civil aviation system has jumped from 112th rank to 55th rank in the latest audit done by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stated on Friday.

The audit -- called ICAO coordinated validated mission (ICVM) -- was done in India between November 9 and November 16 last year in five areas, the DGCA said.

These five areas are LEG (Primary Aviation Legislation and Specific Operating Regulations), ORG (Civil Aviation Organisation), PEL (Personnel Licensing and Training), OPS (Aircraft Operations) and AGA (Aerodrome and Ground Aid). The audit in the sixth area, called AIR (Airworthiness of Aircraft), was done virtually during the same period, it mentioned.

After the November 2022 audit, India received an updated overall EI of 85.65 per cent, it said. The effective implementation (EI) of each audit area is rated from 0 per cent to 100 per cent, with 0 per cent being "not implemented" and 100 per cent being "fully implemented".

United Nations' body ICAO had in 2018 conducted the previous audit of the Indian aviation system, post which it had given the 112th rank.

"The ICAO team during their audit undertook visits to industry and service providers to validate the capability of the state to supervise the activities of these service providers, airlines and organizations," the DGCA mentioned.