India’s aviation safety oversight ranking has jumped to the 55th position from 112th place earlier, with a significant improvement in the country’s score under the ICAO’s coordinated validation mission, according to regulator DGCA.
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The 8 critical areas of the audit by USOAP:
The Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) is based on eight critical elements (CE) of a safety oversight system, which are measured by a set of protocol questions (PQs).
The eight audit areas of a Member State’s aviation system that the programme monitors are:
- Primary Aviation Legislation and Civil Aviation Regulations (LEG)
- Civil Aviation Organization (ORG)
- Personnel Licensing and Training (PEL)
- Aircraft Operations (OPS)
- Airworthiness of Aircraft (AIR)
- Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation (AIG)
- Air Navigation Services (ANS)
- Aerodromes and Ground Aids (AGA)
More About The ICAO’s Aviation Safety Oversight Ranking:
- Under its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach, an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) was undertaken in India from November 9 to 16, 2022. “After the final report India’s safety oversight capability ranking has climbed from 112 to 55.
- It may be noted that this ranking is dynamic and is contingent upon the outcomes of various Audits undertaken by ICAO,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement.
Areas of Audit by ICAO:
- The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) undertakes audit of all the contracting states under this programme. Last year’s mission to India covered the areas of LEG, ORG, PEL, OPS and AGA on-site while the area of AIR was validated virtually during the same period. The Effective Implementation (EI) of six areas were assessed.
- LEG is Primary Aviation Legislation and Specific Operating Regulations; ORG is Civil Aviation Organisation; PEL is Personnel Licensing and Training; OPS is Aircraft Operations;
- AGA is Aerodrome and Ground Aid and AIR is Airworthiness of Aircraft. The ICAO team reviewed the progress in addressing 137 Protocol Questions (PQs) and subsequently, “the status of 101 PQs was changed to satisfactory and that of 1 PQ to not applicable.
- The status of 35 PQs remained not satisfactory, resulting in an updated overall EI of 85.65 per cent,” the statement said.
- The USOAP audit of the civil aviation system of India conducted in 2017 generated an overall EI of 55.15 per cent for the eight critical elements of the country’s safety oversight system.
- During the ICVM conducted in India in 2018, the ICAO team reviewed the progress made in the areas of LEG, ORG, AIG, ANS, and AGA. Then, the score improved to 69.95 per cent, the statement said.
Why is the audit conducted:
The Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme allows the ICAO to continuously monitor the safety obligations of its 187 member states. As the international civil aviation watchdog, the ICAO ensures that member states fulfil their obligation to improve the safety of civil aviation within their own jurisdictions.