Owned by a private operator, the aircraft was on a flight from Patna to Delhi ferrying a patient needing urgent medical attention in Delhi. The patient, along with three attendants and two crew members escaped unhurt, thanks to an alert crew. It was a providential escape.

Age of an aircraft is one of the key factors in air safety. World’s efficient airlines boast of young fleet in order to lure passengers. Singapore and Japan Airlines, for instance, boast of an average five year old fleet. Surely, they have the best of safety records.

For over two decades, India has a rule under which aircraft upto 15 years old could be imported and put under operation as scheduled or non-scheduled flights. Instead of tightening the rule, the DGCA has, curiously, proposed to relax it further by seeking to allow import of aircraft upto 18 years old. Just when it is busy investigating the cause of a serious accident involving the air ambulance, the Government is considering allowing import of an older and ageing aircraft (upto 18 years old instead of 15 years as at present).

The DGCA plea for relaxing the aircraft age is that regional connectivity would be made cheaper by import of such aircraft. It is true that old aircraft are retrofitted and allowed to fly. But it is also true that safety is compromised by doing so. Why else do good and efficient airlines flaunt the young age of their aircraft in attracting passengers?

At a time when Indian aviation sector is logging a growth rate of upto 24 per cent (the last three months of calendar year 2016 –January to March 2016), air passengers are becoming choosy and more concerned about air safety. Major international airlines like Emirates, Lufthansa, Air France etc are introducing newer and modern aircraft into their India operated fleet. Why should India choose to operate older aircraft?

India needs to modernise its fleet of aircraft by introducing newer aircraft instead of allowing cheap imports of old and risky aircraft. The country has become important and is a leading market for aircraft manufacturers. They encourage India to go for newer planes considering the passenger traffic growth, both domestic and international. Even the airlines have shown interest in buying modern new aircraft. Not to talk of PSU carrier Air India, private carriers like Indigo have gone ahead ordering new planes. Why is the DGCA seeking to relax norms? There are quite a few international companies engaged in retrofitting old aircraft and selling them. One only hopes the Indian regulators will not fall prey.

The issue has come up at a very crucial time. India’s civil aviation policy is just about to be finalised. It is learnt that the Civil Aviation Ministry has readied the policy in all respects and is about to take it to the Union Cabinet for its final approval.

Consider a parallel. The NDA government under Mr Modi is in favour of buying rather expensive Japanese high speed (bullet) trains ignoring cheaper Chinese offer considering safety records. Why not same policy for aircraft too?

The DGCA proposal is out of sync in modern times also because Indian flyers are increasingly becoming choosy. A recent report by an international ticketing software company said more and more Indians are flying business class and opting for modern aircraft in foreign travel. Gulf carrier Emirates, for example, has become popular for Indians travelling to US. It is because Emirates operates the newest Airbus A 380 between Dubai and New York.

It is not for no reason that discredited businessman Vijay Mallya’s now defunct Kingfisher Airlines had become popular for domestic travellers. Kingfisher was operating new aircraft as compared to its competitors. The airline went bust because of business malpractices and not on account of lack of passengers.

The DGCA claims to have taken opinion of experts for its age relaxation proposal. At the very least, the government should get it vetted by international aviation experts before blindly giving green signal. (IPA Service)