Following the tragic plane crash in Baramati on January 28, which claimed the lives of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others, the civil aviation ministry has launched a comprehensive nationwide inspection of nearly 400 uncontrolled airstrips. The goal is to establish uniform operating standards and a robust monitoring mechanism, jointly managed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and state authorities. The immediate goal of this drive is to fill a significant gap, as these airstrips, mostly owned by the state, have till now never fallen under normal DGCA authority.
Finally, the teams of DGCA have started assessing the infrastructure, communication facilities, and fire tender readiness of Category A airports, which have no official facilities of Air Traffic Control.
Such airports are used by political leaders, chartered flights, and flying schools, and they had no specific protocol for fire services and runway maintenance. Under the proposed guidelines, all such critical services are to be streamlined.
A specialised team of officers from flight safety, airworthiness, and operations departments has been constituted to conduct field inspections on an immediate basis. Experts emphasise that basic improvements — such as installing windsocks, weather stations, and CCTV surveillance — are cost-effective measures that state governments can implement to significantly enhance safety. Moving forward, the ministry intends for state civil aviation departments to conduct regular checks to ensure these facilities remain safe for operations.
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