Turkish Airlines in safety violation whirlwind in India: What inspections revealed
India's aviation regulator has cited a series of safety violations by Turkish Airlines at four of the country's busiest airports. Coming amidst the chill in ties with Turkey following Operation Sindoor, the seemingly routine compliance check is also being viewed in the light of geopolitics.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) carried out Safety Oversight/Ramp (SOFA/RAMP) inspections of Turkish Airlines' passenger and cargo flights from May 29 to June 2 at Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru. The inspections were part of an existing surveillance regime by India under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rules. These came within days of the government withdrawing security clearance for Celebi Airport Services, another Turkish-linked company, due to national threat perceptions.advertisementWhat the DGCA discovered was a catalog of violations. At Bengaluru, the ground marshaller was not properly authorised or in possession of a valid competency card—a primary requirement for anyone guiding aircraft movement on the tarmac. At the very same airport, an aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) approved to certify was found absent during aircraft arrival. Instead, a technician performed the work, which skirted a required engineering review. Air Works is the contract recipient in India for providing these services to Turkish Airlines.The cargo inspections showed that dangerous goods, including explosives, were being loaded without proper clearance from the DGCA. Relevant permissions were not appended or referred to in the Dangerous Goods Declaration. Such breaches violate both domestic laws and ICAO guidelines.
Turkish Airlines was found flying from Hyderabad and Bengaluru without a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with ground handler Globe Ground India. There was a 'disregard of standard operating procedures', with equipment such as GPUs (Ground Power Units), steps, and ladders not being recorded or signed after use, showing a lack of basic operational discipline, the inspection report says. There was also no handover after Celebi's departure, creating a vacuum that, to all appearances, has never been filled.advertisementThe safety audit comes amid a wider crackdown on Turkish interests in India in the aftermath of Ankara's strident support for Pakistan and reports about Turkish military advisors in Pakistan and its drones being used to mount Pakistani operations against India during Operation Sindoor. Turkish Airlines is now sucked into the whirlwind.The inspections were carried out as part of the DGCA's ramp surveillance programme, as per ICAO practices and regional safety efforts. India is a member of the Asia-Pacific Ramp Inspection Programme (AP-RIP) and shares some findings with European aviation authorities. Ramp checks are standard procedure, but they are increasingly central to India's aviation stance—and with so much foreign, wet-leased aircraft traffic post-COVID, this is only set to grow.India's 2023 ICAO USOAP audit rating of 85.49 was largely due to surveillance and ramp oversight being its main strengths. However, as this episode demonstrates, technical inspections can also be silent levers of signalling. "Turkish Airlines has been asked to correct the deviations and take actions that are compatible with the DGCA and ICAO regulations,' an official statement said. It requires that further aircraft health checks be carried out. But paperwork aside, the message is already in the air.Subscribe to India Today MagazineMust Watch
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