Out on a wing

DGCA needs more rigorous response to safety

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA’s) show-cause notice to SpiceJet, the country’s second-largest airline by market share, for “failure to establish safe, efficient and reliable” services, is an underwhelming response from the aviation regulator with the primary responsibility for passenger safety. The notice to SpiceJet comes after the airline suffered three technical problems in 24 hours — one, a fuel indicator malfunction on an international flight that needed a diversion to Karachi, another a cracked windshield, and the third, a faulty weather radar requiring the flight to turn back. Prima facie, three technical glitches do not amount to a