Civil aviation ministry confirms filling of 119 new positions in DGCA, AERA

As many as 114 of the 416 new positions created in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and 5 of the 10 posts in the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) have already been filled, the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Wednesday said in a press release.

MoCA had created an additional 1,222 new posts in the aviation safety regulator, Airports Authority of India (AAI), and AERA.

In an attempt to beat the shortage of air traffic control officers (ATCOs), the ministry created 796 positions in two phases i.e. 340 posts in May 2022 and 456 posts in April 2023. “Action has also been taken to fill the posts of ATCOs,” the ministry said in the press release.

Other than the 10 in AERA, 24 of the 27 vacancies in existing posts have been filled while the remaining 3 are under process.

This comes after the ministry and the aviation regulator were criticised for deploying insufficient staff on the ground.

The Indian skies have returned to normalcy, with August marking the sixth straight month when domestic air traffic in India has surpassed pre-Covid levels. The severe ground handling staff shortage post-pandemic layoffs caused massive mismanagement in big airports like Delhi and Mumbai. In addition, industry specialists cited the non-availability of required licensed aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) to carry out aircraft inspections and cater to multiple spot checks as the reasons for multiple reported incidents including snags in recent months.

With the demand for air travel booming and the country on its way to becoming the third-largest aviation market in the world, the need for more staff both in the air and on the ground is critical.

While the DGCA regulates air transport services to, from, and within India while enforcing civil air regulations, maintaining air safety and airworthiness standards, as well as overseeing the licensing and training of aviation personnel, the AERA is an independent regulatory body tasked with overseeing the economic regulation of airports in India.

The AAI is a statutory authority responsible for the management, development, and operation of airports and carries out infrastructure development of airports alongside offering air navigation services.