Flying schools flouting norms earn DGCA wrath

“Blatant disregard” of norms has been detected in the functioning of most flying schools in the country, with the DGCA warning them of strong action including cancellation of their permits if they failed to comply with the guidelines within 30 days. The audit by the Directorate General of 

Civil Aviation (DGCA) came in the wake of the fake pilot scam, which led to the licence cancellation of several pilots a few months ago for submission of fake or forged documents.

DGCA teams carried out audits of 40 flying schools across the country since mid-April and found discrepancies in almost all of them, DGCA chief EK Bharat Bhushan told reporters on the sidelines of a CII conference on civil aviation here.

“We have given them 30 days to comply with the guidelines or face stringent action,” he said when asked about the status of the audit into the flying schools.

He, however, said the two state-run bodies — Rae Bareli-based Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udaan Academy and Gondia Flying School — were functioning as per the guidelines.

Terming the audit findings as “disturbing”, DGCA sources warned of action, including closure of some schools, if “blatant disregard of norms” continued.

The discrepancies recorded in the audit include fudged recording of flying hours, no proper syllabus, non- availability of proper documentation, lack of essential infrastructure and even non-maintenance of air strips, the sources said.