Govt seeks 'zero tolerance policy' towards aviation safety

With several air mishaps occurring in the recent past, the government on Wednesday sought a ''zero tolerance policy'' towards aviation safety as state governments agreed to implement all regulations in that regard within three months.

Issues concerning aviation safety and security were the focus of discussions at a meeting of State Aviation Secretaries which was one of the first in the recent past.

The meeting came after a series of accidents like the Mangalore and Faridabad air crashes and helicopter accidents, two of which claimed the lives of Andhra Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh chief ministers Y S R Reddy and Dorjee Khandu.

Addressing the day-long session, Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi asked state governments to implement at the earliest the series of rules and regulations on safety, brought out by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

An official spokesperson said the state government representatives assured that these would be implemented in a time-frame of three months.

Zaidi made it clear that the issue of security was "indivisible and cannot be segregated between States and the Centre".

Observing that there was an urgent need to harmonise the security processes and procedures at all airports in the country, he asked the states to ensure that the local police personnel were well trained and proficient in their work as those belonging to the Central Industrial Security Force which guard all aviation installations.