On Monday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) held a meeting with senior officials of ground handling agencies and airlines managing their own ground operations to give them a rap on the knuckles. The reason: two months after the ground handlers were issued a comprehensive safety checklist by the regulator, a two-day audit at the Delhi airport revealed serious lapses.
Among the most common observations made for all ground handlers during the audit at Delhi airport on October 9 and 10 were: foreign object debris not being cleared before arrival of an aircraft at bay, equipment being parked inside the safety area, chocks being placed inside safety lines during arrival of aircraft, luggage dollies parked in designated areas did not have brakes, lack of driver permits for specific equipment and lack of emergency safety response drill being conducted.
