'Safety is paramount': Aviation minister as glitches, mishaps plague Indian airlines

In an interview with India Today, Jyotiraditya Scindia said the aviation regulators have taken a number of steps to ensure the safety and security of flyers.

Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the safety and security of flyers are paramount. The statement comes in the backdrop of a number of incidents of glitches and mishaps hampering airlines.

In an interview with India Today, Jyotiraditya Scindia said, “This is an industry and a sector where reporting is not 99 per cent, it’s a 100 per cent. Every occurrence gets reported. There are always the cases of some occurrences which are in an airline’s control, and some that are not, for example, bad weather is something that’s not in an airline’s control, a bird hit isn’t. And some things are in an airline’s control. So the primary responsibility is the airline’s for safety but for me, safety is paramount.”

In July, aviation regulator DGCA ordered SpiceJet to operate maximum 50 per cent of its flights, which were approved for summer schedule, for a period of eight weeks. This had come following several incidents of technical malfunction in its aircraft.

Jyotiraditya Scindia said, “For me, safety is important and that’s where the regulator, in terms of DGCA comes in. You have seen over the past few weeks, a lot of steps have been taken (to ensure safety). Through these steps a lot of confidence-building has happened amongst the airlines and passengers.”

“We need to work together to make sure that safety and security for our sector is paramount in terms of how we serve the customer,” Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told India today.