DGCA finds safety violations by Turkish Airlines, orders immediate compliance
NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has completed a three-day inspection of Turkish Airlines and found several violations of basic aircraft maintenance procedures and norms related to the handling of dangerous goods. The airline has been ordered to ensure full compliance immediately.
Turkish Airlines is a codeshare partner of IndiGo. The latter's refusal to end the partnership despite widespread public demand—due to Turkish Airlines' open support to Pakistan during the Indo-Pak conflict—drew sharp criticism. The Centre eventually allowed an extension of the contract by only three months beyond its May 31 deadline, instead of the six months that was requested.
An official release from the Civil Aviation Ministry on Wednesday said the DGCA conducted a Safety Oversight and Ramp (SOFA/RAMP) inspection of Turkish Airlines' passenger and cargo flights at Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru between May 29 and June 2. The inspection was carried out under Article 16 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
According to the DGCA, one of the key findings was that aircraft maintenance after arrival at airports was being done by a technician instead of an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME), as required by the rules. This was because an AME was not available. Airworks is the authorised engineering service provider for Turkish Airlines.
At Delhi airport, the DGCA inspected Turkish Airlines' cargo. "The cargo contained Dangerous Goods for which permission was required from DGCA for carriage of Explosives to/from over India. This was not found to be attached nor was it mentioned in the Dangerous Goods Declaration mentioned," the release said.
At Bengaluru, the marshaller responsible for ground operations did not have proper authorisation or a valid competency card for performing marshalling functions.
Another violation noted was the absence of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between Turkish Airlines and its Ground Handling Agent (GHA). At Hyderabad and Bengaluru, equipment such as ladders, step ladders, trolleys, and Ground Power Units lacked proper accountability and monitoring. Globe Ground India was providing services in these airports without a formal handover from Celebi, the Turkish-based agent whose contract was terminated by the Centre last month.
The DGCA has directed Turkish Airlines to address these issues without delay and ensure complete compliance with ICAO standards and recommended practices, along with Indian regulations.
"Further follow-up inspections will be conducted as necessary to ensure continuous safety oversight," the release said.
The DGCA added that it remains committed to ensuring the safety and regulatory compliance of all foreign operators in Indian airspace. "The inspections were carried out to ensure compliance with both international and national safety regulations," it added.
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