Govt expands civil aviation workforce

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has taken multiple steps for the institutional strengthening and workforce expansion in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), according to an official release.

The DGCA employs a team of qualified and experienced aircraft and aeronautical engineers, pilots, and air traffic controllers to carry out its regulatory and oversight functions. As a testament to these efforts, a total of 416 new positions have been established in the DGCA which will help the aviation watchdog to provide a safe environment in the sector. The positions will be filled in phased manner. As many as 114 posts out of these have already been filled.

The AERA is an independent regulatory body tasked with overseeing the economic regulation of airports in India. Its main objectives include creating a level playing field, fostering healthy competition among major airports, promoting investment in airport facilities, and regulating tariffs for aeronautical services. A total of 10 new posts have been created with the constant indulgence of the Ministry of Civil Aviation for expeditious discharge of functions by AERA. Five of these 10 posts have been filled. Rest of the posts will be filled soon. Apart from this there were 27 vacancies in existing posts. Out of which 24 have been filled and remaining 3 are under process.

The AAI is committed to air travel safety and efficiency. In this direction, it has taken numerous steps, including creation of required number of posts of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) and their recruitment and training. To meet the growing demand of air travel, 796 additional posts of ATCOs have been created in two phases, i.e., 340 posts in May 2022 and 456 posts in April 2023. Action has also been taken to fill the posts of ATCOs.