Singapore regulator announces inspection of Indian aircraft

NEW DELHI: Days after US aviation regulator FAA downgraded India's aviation safety ranking, its Singaporean counterpart CAAS has announced heightened inspection of Indian aircraft operating there.

The European Union's Air Safety Committee is also likely to discuss the issue of downgrade by US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at a meeting next month.

In a statement, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said, 'Following the FAA's recent decision to downgrade India to Category II under its IASA programme, CAAS has stepped up ramp inspections on the aircraft of Indian carriers operating in Singapore. However, CAAS has not imposed any restrictions on these Indian carriers.'

The decision to heighten inspection of all Indian airlines' aircraft landing in or taking off from Singapore could cause delays and affect the flight schedules.

The Singaporean regulator warned that 'any major findings of deficiency found in the ramp inspections have to be addressed by the carrier for it to continue operations in Singapore' but added that 'the frequency of ramp inspections is dependent on CAAS' assessment of the carrier.'

CAAS said it has a Foreign Operators' Surveillance Programme (FOSP) for the authorisation of foreign carriers to operate in Singapore and for the surveillance of such operations.

Under FOSP, the authority evaluates an application for an operations permit using a risk-based methodology, taking into consideration factors like the safety oversight capability of the State of Operator, the operational capability of the airline and safety records of the aircraft and aircraft type to be deployed for the operations.

Earlier, a European Commission spokesperson reportedly said that the operations by Indian air carriers to and from European Union were closely monitored under the Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft programme (SAFA).

He, however, maintained that the FAA's downgrade of India's safety ratings does not give rise to immediate or major concerns with regard to Indian aviation.