Ministry Recommends Classification of Air Transport Operations

Indian classification of air transport operations draws on the Aircraft Rules of 1937 wherein there is a broad delineation between operations carried out by public transport aircraft and private aircraft. The former is aligned with the concept of commercial operations while the latter with general aviation operations. There is however no basic document that classifies air transport operations which has led to varying interpretation and lack of clarity in the scope of commercial operations and its attendant oversight obligations.

The civil aviation industry in India is still at a nascent stage of growth and limited number of aircraft carry out a mix of commercial and non-commercial activities. The industry has long demanded that there should be a proportionate approach to certification and operations of aircraft that are usually not used for scheduled air operations by commercial airlines. However, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has followed the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) approach of addressing commercial and noncommercial operations. Within commercial operations, there are no separate standards and recommended practices (SARPs) for scheduled and non-scheduled operators.

Following representations by the industry, a committee was tasked to formulate comprehensive regulations for general aviation/business aviation (GA/BA) on July 8, 2014. The committee headed by Joint Director General made a presentation on August 19, 2014, during which the problem of clubbing general aviation with commercial operations due to ICAO stipulations on the subject was highlighted. The DG (CA) constituted another committee headed by the chief flight operations inspector (CFOI) to formulate regulations for non-scheduled operators permits (NSOPs).

Following acceptance of the recommendations of this Committee, draft amendment seeking limiting issue of NSOP to operators with minimum three aircraft was put up on the DGCA website. There have been a number of responses to this proposal that is under process of finalisation.

The issue of proportionate regulations for smaller operators was again flagged during a meeting chaired by the Secretary, Civil Aviation, to discuss the Draft Civil Aviation Policy on December 9, 2014. The Director General directed constitution of committee to draft comprehensive recommendations on the issue.

The civil aviation industry in India is still at a nascent stage of growth and limited number of aircraft carry out a mix of commercial and non-commercial activities

Based on ICAO methodology and international best practices, the following criteria are recommended for classification of operations:

• The commercial nature of operations, i.e. whether operations are for hire/ remuneration or not and whether they are available to general public or not, that is commercial and non-commercial (general aviation); and
• Within the above respective classification, size and complexity of the aircraft based on aircraft all up weight (AUW) above and below 5,700 kg and whether the aircraft are turbojet engine powered or not.
• The frequency of operations, i.e. whether operations are scheduled or non-scheduled.

The first two factors are also the primary criteria for categorisation of air operations as adopted by both the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), though both FAA and EASA follow a much more nuanced approach and use different terms to differentiate between various common types of air transport operations. Though ICAO uses the term scheduled and nonscheduled, as also FAA, there is no impact of this classification on regulatory aspects.

The following classes of air operations are accordingly proposed for drafting proportionate and complementary regulations for both certification and operations in India:

• Commercial Air Transport Operations with Large and Turbojet Aircraft: This would include all commercial air transport operations with bigger aircraft (i.e. above 5,700 kg AUW and all turbojet aircraft). These operators could undertake both international and domestic operations whether scheduled or charter. Operations currently classified as Scheduled Commercial Operations and some categories of Non-Scheduled Operations (e.g. NSOP Charter operations with large/ turbojet aircraft) would fall under this category.
• Commercial Air Transport Operations with Small Aircraft: This would include all domestic commercial air transport operations with non-turbojet aircraft below 5700 kg AUW including scheduled and charter operations. This category would include all scheduled and non-scheduled operations for regional/remote connectivity subject to the same being conducted with non-turbojet aircraft with limited AUW and passenger seating capacity. For example, Air Taxi/ Commuter Airlines.
• General Aviation Operations with Large and Turbojet Aircraft: This would include all operations other than a commercial air transport operation or an aerial work operation conducted with bigger aircraft (i.e. above 5,700 kg AUW and all turbojet aircraft) or on a bigger scale (i.e. operators having more than three aircraft on their permit) but not available to general public. These could include international and domestic operations. This would include state/ government operations, corporate/ business operations with larger aircraft for non-commercial purposes.
• General Aviation Operations with Small Aircraft: This would include all operations other than a commercial air transport operations or aerial work operations conducted with aircraft below 5,700 kg AUW on a limited scale, i.e. with less than three aircraft.

The certification regulations based on above classification would have no distinction between aeroplanes and helicopters although operating regulations would address the specific requirements of both categories of aircraft.

This proposal would provide the following advantages over the system currently followed:

• It encompasses all current air operations and would also cover all envisaged future air operations, e.g. remote connectivity operations.
• It would enable duly proportionate rules for certification whilst totally conforming to the concept of duty of care and ICAO’s rule making philosophy. For example, the different ICAO SARPs could be segregated for different classes of air operations explained above.
• It would also enable proportionality in operating requirements based on the category of operations.
• It would provide a comprehensive set of certification and operating regulations related to the scope and complexity of operations.
• It would also provide tremendous flexibility to operators who could choose what category of operations to operate under, based on their requirements and the rigorousness of the regulations.
• DGCA resources would also get proportionately applied to ensure optimal regulatory oversight thus enhancing aviation safety.
• It would bring our regulations at par with international best practices

IMPLEMENTABLE SCHEDULE

The adoption and implementation of these regulations would be subject to prior notification of amended Aircraft Rules by the Ministry. The recommendations have a far-reaching impact and although considerable deliberations have already been held with major stakeholders, the in-principle approval of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) may be considered prior to implementing these recommendations. The Ministry has already moved proposals for creating additional categories of operators, viz, Scheduled Regional Airlines/Commuter Airlines. Hence, all such classes would be absorbed into the classification proposed in the report whilst ensuring India’s compliance with ICAO requirements.

The following schedule is proposed for implementation: