Rising incidences of commercial aircraft having near misses and skidding should raise alarm bells in India. A near-disaster at Delhi airport is an eye-opener — a potentially major aviation disaster between two aircraft was averted in the nick of time. Similarly, an aircraft skidded at Goa airport, with minor injuries to passengers. India needs to urgently improve its air safety.
Not much has happened in this regard since the near miss of an aircraft carrying the country’s president at Mumbai airport in 2011, even though elsewhere in the world near misses are taken very seriously and thoroughly investigated.
India has seen an aviation boom in the last decade, with new airports, new airlines, and Gulf airlines starting daily flights from airports throughout the country. However, this boom has led to a crippling shortage of highly trained pilots, air traffic control (ATC) personnel and other technical staff. It is high time the government carry out a comprehensive safety audit of the civil aviation industry, and improve staff training and coordination.
India needs to improve air safety
