New Delhi, August 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India needs an independent aviation safety board and a fundamental overhaul of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to strengthen safety oversight, Federation of Indian Pilots founding president and former Air India pilot Minoo Wadia said on Sunday.
In an interview with IANS, Wadia said concerns about the structure and functioning of the aviation regulator have been raised with the government repeatedly over several decades. He said the Federation of Indian Pilots had approached the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Civil Aviation on multiple occasions seeking reforms to improve aviation safety.
“We have written to the Prime Minister, to the Ministry, that there are two essential things which are required for safety on air. One is an independent safety board, and secondly, is total revamping of the office of the DGCA,” Wadia said.
He questioned whether a predominantly bureaucratic regulatory structure can adequately address the technical demands of aviation.
“Earlier in those days, when I came from the Air Force and joined Air India, there was not a single aviator in the whole office of the DGCA. The DGCA was only full of bureaucrats,” Wadia said, arguing that aviation regulators need professionals with substantial technical and operational experience.
According to Wadia, aviation is a highly specialised sector and requires regulatory institutions equipped with appropriate technical expertise. While acknowledging that some changes have been introduced over the years, he maintained that the DGCA’s overall structure and approach have not evolved sufficiently to keep pace with the expanding aviation sector.
Wadia also commented on turbulence experienced during a Phuket-Delhi flight, describing turbulence as a common phenomenon encountered across the global aviation industry.
He explained that turbulence can result from different weather conditions, with severe turbulence often associated with cumulonimbus cloud formations. Clear-air turbulence, meanwhile, can occur even without visible clouds.
“As far as the turbulence on the aircraft is concerned, anywhere you fly in the world, turbulence is a very common phenomenon. There are different types of turbulence,” he said.
Wadia’s comments come amid renewed discussions over aviation safety and the effectiveness of regulatory oversight, with calls for greater technical expertise and institutional independence in India’s aviation safety framework.
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