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India mulls allowing importing planes of up to 18 years for regional flights
INDIA's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) may soon relax a two-decade rule banning the import of aircraft over 15 years, by allowing domestic airlines to import planes that are up to 18 years old, in a bid to boost regional air connectivity.
According to the regulator, since the publication of the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) 20 years ago in relation to the "age of aircraft to be imported for charter, general aviation and other operations," studies have been conducted by international aviation community on the correlation between fatal accidents and age of the aircraft.
"Such studies have not clearly established that there is a correlation between accident rate and aircraft age up till eighteen years," DGCA was cited as saying in a report by Press Trust of India.
"Considering that modern commercial air transport jet aircraft are significant economic assets that can have an effective economic useful life of decades, the restriction imposed on import of aged aircraft is cautiously revised."
Generally, jet aircraft makers prescribe a design economic life for their planes which extend to 20 years or 60,000 landings/pressurisation cycles.
The proposal to relax the aircraft import requirements comes at a time when the government is in the final stages of preparing a new aviation policy that would focus on improving regional air connectivity, among other areas.
The watchdog has proposed that pressurized aircraft that are to be imported should not have "completed 18 years of age or 50 per cent of operating cycle."
According to the regulator, since the publication of the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) 20 years ago in relation to the "age of aircraft to be imported for charter, general aviation and other operations," studies have been conducted by international aviation community on the correlation between fatal accidents and age of the aircraft.
"Such studies have not clearly established that there is a correlation between accident rate and aircraft age up till eighteen years," DGCA was cited as saying in a report by Press Trust of India.
"Considering that modern commercial air transport jet aircraft are significant economic assets that can have an effective economic useful life of decades, the restriction imposed on import of aged aircraft is cautiously revised."
Generally, jet aircraft makers prescribe a design economic life for their planes which extend to 20 years or 60,000 landings/pressurisation cycles.
The proposal to relax the aircraft import requirements comes at a time when the government is in the final stages of preparing a new aviation policy that would focus on improving regional air connectivity, among other areas.
The watchdog has proposed that pressurized aircraft that are to be imported should not have "completed 18 years of age or 50 per cent of operating cycle."
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