New Delhi: The straining of Indo-US ties which saw Indian aviation safety ranking downgraded to Nicaragua level could now see India taking the unprecedented step of mounting checks on foreign airlines' aircraft. Top aviation ministry sources say India will take all steps red-flagged by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by March-end and would then 'expect' to be restored to category I of aviation safety ranking.
"We quickly expect to be back in category I after being questionably downgraded last week. All the steps will be taken by then. If still the downgrade is not reversed and our airlines flying to US are harassed unnecessarily, we will retaliate doing the same," said a top source.
The source added that aviation minister Ajit Singh chose senior IAS officer and his close confidante Prabhat Kumar to be the chief of directorate general of civil aviation at this crucial time keeping this challenge in mind. "Kumar is a very tough taskmaster. He will do what it takes to get DGCA back in category I at the earliest. And if still we are wrongly kept downgraded and our airlines harassed, Kumar knows what to do," said a top aviation ministry source, clearly hinting at a tit-for-tat retaliation.
Airline sources say India has rarely, if ever, conducted checks on foreign aircraft and their crew here.
Read News In Full 03/02/14 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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