Govt to clear foreign staff of airlines

Private carriers and airports wanting to employ foreign nationals will have to get prior security clearance from the government for employing them.

According to senior civil aviation ministry officials, this will apply to both managerial positions as well as technical personnel like pilots, flight crew and engineers. The existing foreign employees of airlines and airports will also have to get security nod.

At present, private carriers like Jet Airways, Kingfisher and IndiGo have foreign nationals as chief executive officers as well as heads of key divisions. They are also hiring foreign pilots and engineers to overcome the shortage of pilots and aircraft engineers in the country.

The latest rule means hiring personnel will become a lengthier process for the carriers, as the security clearance can take long.

This move by the government comes in the wake of a parliamentary panel raising questions over the GMR group, which is privatising and modernising the Delhi international airport, employing a foreign national as the head of its airport project. The civil aviation ministry had asked the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security to look into the issue.

"An issue of security has been raised. It will be addressed. This move is part of it. Such clearances are required in certain other critical sectors," said a senior civil aviation ministry official. He also said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation would come out with strict regulations.

A domestic airline is allowed to employ foreign pilots and engineers for a specific period with the approval of the government. Carriers can also employ foreign nationals as flight crew. Till now, clearance from security agencies was not required for hiring foreign nationals.

There are already stringent restrictions on having foreign citizens on the board of carriers. According to the present norms, the chairman and two-thirds of the members of the board of an Indian carrier should be Indian citizens. In addition, every member of the board should get security clearance from the home ministry.

Besides, the ministry also plans to give powers to the National Security Guard for dealing with any incident of aircraft hijacking or other security issues.