New Delhi [India], July 8 : Members at a meeting of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday expressed concern over air safety and surge in price of air tickets from Srinagar to other cities after the Pahalgam terror attack and sought clarifications from the officials present, sources said.
The sources said members mentioned the Air India crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, in which over 250 people were killed, and sought clarification on air safety.
The sources stated that Air India officials conveyed that the Boeing Dreamliner aircraft, which crashed in Ahmedabad while en route to London, was one of the safest aircraft in the world. The officials are also learnt to have told the panel that over 1,100 Dreamliners are in use in different countries.
The meeting was attended by officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA), Airports Authority of India (AAI), AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Ltd. (AAICLAS), and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
Representatives of airport operators and airlines were also present.
The agenda of the meeting was 'Levy and regulation of fees, tariffs, user charges on public infrastructure and other public utilities'.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson was among senior airline officials present at the meeting.
Some MPs said the air fares had gone up drastically after the terror attack causing inconvenience and hardship to people.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Praful Patel asserted that there is no need to panic as all airlines, including Air India, follow safety protocols.
However, Patel, a former Civil Aviation Minister, highlighted that there is need of more people in the DGCA as they are facing a shortage of top-level skilled manpower.
"Safety is paramount. Anyone who flies wants to feel safe and assured that he will reach his destination... Indian aviation is safe. There is no need to be panicking about it. All airlines, including Air India, follow safety protocols. DGCA is well-equipped and does a very good job. DGCA needs to have more people because they are facing a shortage of top-level skilled manpower. A lot of retired people can be brought back for a short period so that understaffing can be addressed at the higher level to ensure that the safety standards are complied with," Praful Patel said.
BJP MP Jagdambika Pal said airlines have given assurance to address concerns over surge pricing of air tickets.
"In the meeting, we talked about the Buddhist Circuit. There are very important places that are significant in Buddhism. All countries and places significant to Buddhism will be interconnected. Airfare hikes were also discussed, especially the ones post Pahalgam terror attack and during Maha Kumbh... Air safety was the most discussed issue... The black box investigation of the Ahmedabad plane crash is currently underway, and the Dreamliner is supposed to be one of the safest aircraft," Pal said.
Congress MP and PAC Chairperson KC Venugopal mentioned that the Committee has asked the airlines to have clear-cut regulations on fares.
"Everybody is concerned about the safety... We are discussing the increase in air fares also, especially post Pahalgam and during Kumbh... The committee has asked them to have clear-cut regulations on fares... DGCA and airlines were also part of the meeting," Venugopal said.
On June 12, Air India Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. It struck a hostel building of BJ Medical College, killing 241 of the 242 people on board, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has submitted its preliminary report to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and other authorities. According to sources, the crash protection module (CPM) from one of the black boxes was retrieved, and the data was successfully downloaded on June 25 at the AAIB Lab in Delhi. To verify the data, an identical unit known as a "golden chassis" was used.
The investigation is being led by the AAIB Director General and includes experts from the Indian Air Force, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and the US-based National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is the designated investigation body from the country of the aircraft's design. Aviation medicine and air traffic control experts are also part of the team.
According to officials, this is the first time India is decoding black box data domestically. On June 25, the memory module was successfully accessed and its data was downloaded at the AAIB Lab, the official said.