New Delhi: The Airlines Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) on Saturday called on the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to suspend all flights to high-risk conflict areas in West Asia, along with mandatory disclosure and verification of comprehensive insurance coverage for such operations.
In a letter to the DGCA, the pilot association highlighted the risk in carrying out operations with civilian airlines in conflict-torn regions, citing previous incidents of civilian airlines being shot down in the fog of war.
ALPA wrote, “Operating flights into, or in close proximity to, an active war zone constitutes a serious and unacceptable risk to the safety of passengers, flight crew, and aircraft. In our considered view, such decisions amount to wilful endangerment of human life. It is pertinent to note that this issue was previously raised by us on March 18 with
the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The DGCA issued an Urgent Safety advisory dated March 19 as a response–advising airlines to conduct their own independent risk assessments–raises significant concerns.”
It highlighted that commercial airlines do not possess the requisite intelligence for risk assessment in regions with active conflicts. The association stressed no formal assurance provided to confirm adequate war risk insurance coverage for pilots and crew members carrying out operations in West Asia.
“Commercial airlines do not possess the requisite intelligence, surveillance capabilities, or geopolitical risk assessment infrastructure necessary to adequately evaluate threats in active conflict environments. Such assessments fall squarely within the domain of sovereign authorities and specialised agencies. Delegating this responsibility to individual operators not only creates inconsistencies in safety standards but also exposes flight crew and passengers to potentially catastrophic risks without a robust and uniform safety framework,” the pilots’ association added.
ALPA first raised the issue on March 18. The DGCA’s response was an advisory telling airlines to do their own checks. The pilots say this creates uneven safety and puts lives at risk.