weido_salt… I have to say that it’s not the DGCA that wants the expats out… it SWIP and the Indian Airline Pilots Union. Their rationale is… no expat captains… faster upgrade to command for current first officers. One can only hope that Indian airlines have adequate legal consul, risk managers, and liability insurance advisors consulting them on the foibles of premature upgrades.
I was shocked that a previous poster felt that pilots who bribed the DGCA should be compensated for personal damages. Now I hope that statement was a tongue in cheek remark.
As I posted before, not only ICAO, but every aviation agency round the free world need to take immediate action against all Indian Airlines operating within their airspace. As extreme as my thought may be, but remember due to safety violations, some airlines from Africa and Indonesia banned from the EU and the US.
Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft Ramp Inspections (SAFA) will only serve as a process to see if the fraudulent documents in the possession of these illegals are current. Given the state of the DGCA’s ineptitude as well as record keeping procedures, I can’t see the DGCA being motivated as a cooperating entity with other aviation agencies. Has anyone visted the DGCA in Delhi? IMO words cannot describe the state of the offices of the DGCA. It’s one of those sights that one need to witness for themselves. Shear filth and disgrace.
Call me a cynic, call me paranoid, or untrusting, but this is what I foresee. IMO the DGCA will discover more fraudulent certificates than they were banking on. We can all agree the DGCA and the Indian Government want this embarrassment to disappear. With that being said, I’ll wager a month’s pay that the DGCA will take their pens, (ala a magic wands) and by the miracle of the Indian Sky Gods, make those fraudulent certificates into legitimate ones.
ICAO needs to step in to audit ATPL pilot certificates of those airmen operating beyond the borders of India. A team must be created comprised of representatives of aviation agencies from other countries. Oversight of the Indian DGCA is essential, as clearly exhibited, they incapable of this themselves. Immediate action must be taken to ensure the safety of the innocents both onboard the aircraft and on the ground. The cost should be borne by the DGCA.
If SWIP and the Indian Airline Pilots Union had one set of cajones between the group of them, they would demand reform concerning this matter to route out and prosecute those illegals… but alas, and for shame… illegal pilots amongst their ranks is not of a primary concern.