Dropping its condition for a "safety talk" on Indian aviation standards, Japan has finally allowed Air India to fly its Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the country. AI had for many months been seeking nod to fly its latest plane to Japan.
But ever since the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) raised "significant safety concerns (SSC)" over the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA), Japan did not allow AI to fly the new plane there and also sought information on the Boeing 777s the airline uses currently on the Tokyo route.
"Japan wanted to have a safety talk with the DGCA before giving the nod to an Indian carrier for flying for any new type of aircraft there. However after doing an audit of the DGCA August, ICAO dropped its safety concerns for India. After that there was no point in having safety meetings with individual countries as ICAO represents all the countries. This would have been an endless process," said a senior official.
Indian aviation authorities conveyed this stand in plain terms to their Japanese counterparts during an ICAO meet in Canada last week. Following this stern message from India, Japan finally agreed to give AI the nod to fly the Dreamliners there.
A senior AI official confirmed that the airline had got this permission. "We currently have eight B-787s. While one of them is used for domestic flights, six are flying to overseas destinations and one is kept standby. We are getting the ninth Dreamliner in a day or two. This plane will be deployed on the Japan route from the coming winter schedule," the official said. The airline will announce the dates for Dreamliner flight launch to Japan in coming days.
But ever since the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) raised "significant safety concerns (SSC)" over the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA), Japan did not allow AI to fly the new plane there and also sought information on the Boeing 777s the airline uses currently on the Tokyo route.
"Japan wanted to have a safety talk with the DGCA before giving the nod to an Indian carrier for flying for any new type of aircraft there. However after doing an audit of the DGCA August, ICAO dropped its safety concerns for India. After that there was no point in having safety meetings with individual countries as ICAO represents all the countries. This would have been an endless process," said a senior official.
Indian aviation authorities conveyed this stand in plain terms to their Japanese counterparts during an ICAO meet in Canada last week. Following this stern message from India, Japan finally agreed to give AI the nod to fly the Dreamliners there.
A senior AI official confirmed that the airline had got this permission. "We currently have eight B-787s. While one of them is used for domestic flights, six are flying to overseas destinations and one is kept standby. We are getting the ninth Dreamliner in a day or two. This plane will be deployed on the Japan route from the coming winter schedule," the official said. The airline will announce the dates for Dreamliner flight launch to Japan in coming days.
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