Parliamentary Panel: DGCA Staff Shortages Threaten India Aviation Safety

(AHMEDABAD) A parliamentary report tabled on August 21, 2025 warns that severe staff shortages at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) pose an “existential threat” to India’s aviation safety system. Nearly half of sanctioned posts are unfilled and core oversight functions are under strain. The warning comes less than two months after the Air India crash in Ahmedabad in June 2025, which killed 260 people and has become the world’s deadliest aviation disaster in a decade.

Lawmakers say the regulator lacks the people it needs to check airlines, airports, and air traffic control at a time of rapid sector growth. The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture found that out of 1,063 sanctioned DGCA posts, only 553 are filled, leaving a vacancy rate close to 48%. The committee called the deficit a “critical vulnerability,” arguing that fast aircraft induction has outpaced airport capacity and the regulator’s ability to inspect, audit, and enforce.

The report also pointed to:
– a string of recent helicopter accidents in northern India as signs of systemic gaps,
– weak follow-up after surveillance findings, where problems remain open for long periods without solid fixes,
– and fatigue risks for air traffic controllers due to duty-time non-enforcement.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has acknowledged the problem. He told parliament last month that 190 of the 500+ unfilled positions would be staffed by October 2025. However, the ministry said direct recruitment by the DGCA is “not under consideration,” and hiring remains slow because it depends on an external agency. The parliamentary panel urged the government to allow the regulator to hire directly and move quickly, warning that long vacancies in technical and regulatory roles weaken audits and delay important safety orders after incidents.

Key safety concerns and operational pressures

The panel criticized the Airports Authority of India and the DGCA for not enforcing duty-time limits for air traffic controllers, which raises fatigue and the risk of human error. It also flagged pressure inside airlines to keep planes flying and turn profits, sometimes at the cost of immediate maintenance. That risk is amplified when oversight is thin.

With the Air India crash still fresh, lawmakers said the system cannot afford:
– weak checks,
– slow root-cause reviews,
– or soft penalties when repeated hazards appear in runway operations and flight handling.

“Safety oversight is eroding because shortages make it harder to conduct audits, enforce standards, and close gaps after incidents,” the committee warned.

Parliament report and government response

Committee chair Sanjay Kumar Jha called the situation “profound and persistent,” and members want a time-bound plan to fix it. They said the DGCA’s dependence on outside hiring has made the process slow and inflexible, with skilled inspectors hard to retain.

The panel asked the Ministry of Civil Aviation to:
– give the regulator tools and authority to recruit, train, and promote on its own,
– and move toward greater autonomy to speed up hiring and retention.

The ministry has not committed to full autonomy for the DGCA, but it has accepted the need to fill posts and improve oversight after rapid growth across carriers and airports.

The report cited:
– a backlog of unresolved safety findings,
– weak post-surveillance rectification,
– and air traffic control under pressure from staffing and training shortfalls.

Readers can find DGCA notifications and public information on the regulator’s official website: https://dgca.gov.in. For official queries, DGCA lists contact details at [email protected] and +91-11-24622495. The Ministry of Civil Aviation can be reached via [email protected] and +91-11-24610333.

Reform proposals and safety implications

Lawmakers laid out a set of steps to rebuild capacity and restore confidence:

1. Grant the DGCA full administrative and financial autonomy through a time-bound plan to improve recruitment and retention.
2. Launch a focused recruitment campaign to fill vacancies, with priority for technical and regulatory roles.
3. Consider a new, independent regulatory authority to replace the DGCA if reforms stall.
4. Implement a National Capacity Alignment Plan to match fleet growth with airport and regulatory capacity.
5. Create a unified national regulatory framework for all state-operated aviation services, including mandatory terrain-specific pilot training to address helicopter safety.
6. Set strict deadlines to close safety gaps and apply stronger enforcement, including financial penalties for non-compliance.
7. Mandate root-cause analysis for every runway incursion and recurrent high-risk event.
8. Increase central intervention for high-risk aviation environments, especially for state-run helicopter services.

The panel’s message is clear: the current staff shortages must be addressed quickly to keep pace with India’s booming aviation market. The recommendations focus on people and structure—who is hired, who supervises, and how fast findings are fixed after accidents and incidents.

Aviation experts cited in the report warn that rapid sector growth without matching regulatory capacity increases the risk of accidents and erodes safety margins. According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the same pattern—fast expansion paired with a thin safety watchdog—can unsettle traveler confidence and complicate trip planning.

Near-term outlook and implications

While the government’s plan to fill 190 posts by October 2025 would reduce pressure, the vacancy count would still exceed 300 positions. The committee said this gap is too large for a sector adding aircraft and routes at speed. It urged the ministry to move beyond partial staffing fixes and commit to the autonomy package so the regulator can recruit directly, retain specialists, and build career paths that keep inspectors in the system.

The Air India crash in Ahmedabad pushed these debates to the front of national attention. The committee framed that tragedy, along with recent helicopter accidents, as evidence that the safety net is stretched. It also highlighted weak enforcement of controller duty limits as a red flag for human performance.

To close these gaps, the panel wants:
– stronger penalties when operators delay fixes,
– tighter timelines for corrective actions,
– and mandatory deep-dive reviews whenever runway incursions or other high-risk events recur.

If reforms lag, members said the government should consider building a new authority to take over India’s aviation oversight. That option signals how seriously parliament views the current risk profile; a fresh regulator would be a major structural change and is framed as a last resort if autonomy, hiring reforms, and capacity alignment do not progress.

What this means for passengers and stakeholders

For passengers—including families, students, and workers who rely on domestic connections to reach international flights—the debate centers on trust: are problems found quickly, and are they fixed on time? Parliament’s answer is that the system needs more trained people, clearer authority, and stronger follow-through.

The committee’s timeline is urgent; its proposals aim to turn a patchwork of partial fixes into a plan that can scale with growth and withstand crises. VisaVerge.com reports that close attention now turns to how fast the ministry and the DGCA act between now and October. With the Ahmedabad tragedy as a reference point, members said the country should not wait for another severe incident to complete reforms.

The next few months will show:
– whether hiring accelerates,
– whether autonomy gains traction,
– and whether open findings finally close on schedule.