![]() Parent Agency - Ministry of Civil Aviation | |
![]() Logo of Directorate General of Civil Aviation | |
Regulator overview | |
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Jurisdiction | Government of India |
Headquarters | Office of Director General Of Civil Aviation, opp. Safdarjung Airport, New Delhi 28°34′58.56″N77°12′47.12″E / 28.5829333°N 77.2130889°E |
Minister responsible | |
Deputy Ministers responsible | |
Regulator executive |
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Parent department | Ministry of Civil Aviation (India) |
Parent Regulator | Ministry of Civil Aviation (India) |
Website | dgca.gov.in |
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is a statutory body of the Government of India to regulate civil aviation in India. It became a statutory body under the Aircraft (Amendment) Act, 2020. The DGCA investigates aviation accidents and incidents, [2] maintains all regulations related to aviation and is responsible for issuance of licenses pertaining to aviation like PPL's, SPL's and CPL's in India. It is headquartered along Sri Aurobindo Marg, opposite Safdarjung Airport, in New Delhi. [3] The Government of India is planning to replace the organisation with a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), modelled on the lines of the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). [4]
Endeavour to promote safe and efficient Air Transportation through regulation and proactive safety oversight system. [5]
These are classified and divided into the following:
DGCA has fourteen Regional Airworthiness Offices (RAO) at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Kanpur, Guwahati and Patiala. It has also five Regional Air Safety offices located at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. It has a Regional Research and Development Office located at Bangalore and a Gliding Centre at Pune. [6]
The CAA has been envisaged as an autonomous regulatory body which will replace the DGCA and will meet standards set by the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The CAA will have separate departments to deal with safety, economic regulation and grievance resolution, as well as a full-fledged environment department. It will also have an independent accident investigation bureau. The Authority will also have the autonomy to recruit staff. Currently, the DGCA is understaffed and does not have any recruitment powers. The CAA will have administrative and financial powers similar to those of the American FAA. These powers will redefine the regulator's role and better equip it to face the challenges of the growing Aviation sector in the country. Employees working with DGCA will be transferred to the CAA. [4]
The estimated cost of establishing the new Authority would be around Rs 11.2 million. The CAA would be self-financing and have a separate fund called the 'Civil Aviation Authority of India Fund' that would finance its entire expenses. It would have a Chairperson, a Director General and 7-9 members appointed by the Central Government. These members will be qualified in the fields of aviation safety, aircraft engineering, flight standard operations, aerodromes, air navigation systems and air space management. [7]
Previously the DGCA conducted investigations and gave information to the investigations established by the Court of Inquiry and the Committee Inquiry. A separate investigative agency was established to comply with the Standards And Recommended Practices (SARPs) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Therefore, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) was established in 2011. [8]
In January 1978, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) was established as a department of the DGCA. As a result of the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182, on 1 April 1987 the BCAS became an independent agency of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. [9]
13 Flight Operations Inspectors working with the DGCA have tendered their resignation in a week of May 2015 in protest against the aviation regulator's decision to post them away from their homes Delhi to Mumbai and Chennai. [10]
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a U.S. federal government agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation which regulates civil aviation in the United States and surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic control, certification of personnel and aircraft, setting standards for airports, and protection of U.S. assets during the launch or re-entry of commercial space vehicles. Powers over neighboring international waters were delegated to the FAA by authority of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other purposes. However, for statistical purposes, ICAO uses a definition of general aviation which includes aerial work.
An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that causes serious injury, death, or destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not progress to an actual accident. Preventing accidents and incidents is the main goal of aviation safety.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the statutory corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the United Kingdom. Its areas of responsibility include:
An airworthiness directive is a notification to owners and operators of certified aircraft that a known safety deficiency with a particular model of aircraft, engine, avionics or other system exists and must be corrected.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India. It provides Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) services over the Indian airspace and adjoining oceanic areas. AAI currently manages a total of 137 airports, including 34 international airports, 10 Customs Airports, 81 domestic airports, and 23 Civil enclaves at Defense airfields. AAI also has ground installations at all airports and 25 other locations to ensure the safety of aircraft operations. AAI covers all major air routes over the Indian landmass via 29 Radar installations at 11 locations along with 700 VOR/DVOR installations co-located with Distance Measuring Equipment (DME). 52 runways are provided with Instrument landing system (ILS) installations with Night Landing Facilities at most of these airports and an Automatic Message Switching System at 15 Airports.
Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) is a state-owned autonomous body under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation, which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in Pakistan. PCAA's head office is situated in Terminal-1 of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. PCAA is a member state of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Nearly all 44 civilian airports in Pakistan are owned and operated by the PCAA.
Safdarjung Airport is an airport in New Delhi, India, in the neighbourhood of the same name. Established during the British Raj as Willingdon Airfield, it started operations as an aerodrome in 1929, when it was India's second airport after the Juhu Aerodrome in Mumbai. It was used extensively during the Second World War as it was part of the South Atlantic air ferry route, and later during Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. Once situated on the edge of Lutyens' Delhi, today, it has the entire city of New Delhi around it. It remained the city's main airport until 1962, when operations shifted to Palam Airport completely by the late 1960s, as it could not support the new bigger aircraft such as jet aircraft.
Lengpui Airport is a domestic airport serving Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram, India. Located in Lengpui within the Mamit district, the airport lies approximately 32 km north of Aizawl. It offers flights connecting to Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Imphal and Silchar. Notably, Lengpui Airport is the first in India to be constructed by a State Government. The airport is also known as Aizawl Airport or Aizawl–Lengpui Airport, reflecting its role in serving Aizawl.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation in India is the nodal ministry responsible for the formulation of national policies and programmes for the development and regulation of civil aviation. It devises and implements schemes for the orderly growth and expansion of civil air transport in the country. Its functions also extend to overseeing airport facilities, air traffic services and carriage of passengers and goods by air. The ministry also administers the implementation of the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, Aircraft Rules, 1937 and is administratively responsible for the Commission of Railway Safety.
General aviation (GA) has been defined as a civil aircraft operation other than a commercial air transport flight operating to a schedule. Although the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) excludes any form of remunerated aviation from its definition, some commercial operations are often included within the scope of General Aviation (GA). General aviation refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial.
The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) is the government agency responsible for licensing, monitoring, and regulating civil aviation matters in the country. It is administered by the Uganda Ministry of Works and Transport.
A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register.
The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is the civil aviation authority of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its head office is in Al Rawdah, Abu Dhabi.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Islamic Republic of Iran (CAA.IRI), is Iran's civil aviation agency. It is the statutory corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in Iran. The organization was established in July 1946 and its headquartered at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran. It investigates aviation accidents and incidents in Iran.
The State Secretariat of Civil Aviation is an agency of the government of Cambodia in-charge of civil aviation including airports in the country. It is headquartered in the capital Phnom Penh. The SSCA oversees the operation of national airports and air traffic management system in Cambodia. In 2000, it granted lease to SAMART Corporation to operate and upgrade the country's air traffic control and air navigation system under a long-term concession. The Secretary of State in charge is Mao Havannall.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India which investigates aircraft accidents and incidents in India.
Civil aviation in India, the world's third-largest civil aviation market as of 2020, traces its origin back to 1911, when the first commercial civil aviation flight took off from a polo ground in Allahabad carrying mail across the Yamuna river to Naini.
Air India Express Flight 1344 was a scheduled international flight on 7 August 2020 from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Kozhikode, India, landing at Calicut International Airport. The flight was part of the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indian nationals stranded due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The flight crew aborted two landing attempts because of heavy rain and tailwind. On the third landing attempt, the aircraft touched down on runway 10, but skidded off the end of the tabletop runway and slid down a 9–10.5 m (30–35 ft) slope, killing 19 passengers and both pilots. The four cabin crew members and 165 passengers survived, of whom all but two were injured. This was the second fatal accident involving Air India Express, after the 2010 Mangalore crash.
The Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) is one of the two agencies resulting from the division of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The other is the Pakistan Airport Authority, representing the split of responsibilities and functions within the aviation sector.