The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture presented reports on safety & security in the aviation sector in the recently concluded 2022 Budget Session. The committee highlighted multiple aspects related to safety & security including vacancies of personnel and made relevant recommendations. The Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture presented reports on ‘Issues related to Safety in Civil Aviation Sector’ and ‘Issues related to Security in Civil Aviation Sector’, in the 2022 Budget Session as passenger traffic grew significantly in the last few years barring the period affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 2018-19 and 2021-22 (up to February 2022), over 965.59 million passengers were handled by all public and private airlines in the country. In 2018-19 alone, 344.7 million passengers were handled by airlines in India. As air travel expands in India with increasing passenger traffic from newer places, safety and security at airports, airlines, etc. becomes paramount. These issues have been addressed in the standing committee reports. The issue of safety as discussed by the committee has been dealt with in the first part of the story which is followed by security concerns in the sector. Safety issues and recommendations DGCA was asked to coordinate with AAI and Airline operators to ensure the implementation of safety guidelines The role of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the overall management and supervision of the entire gamut of activities related to the safety aspects of the aviation sector like licensing and surveillance of airlines and aerodromes, licensing of the crew, implementation of Safety Management System, investigation of incidents and surveillance of aircraft operations in the country. Noting the pivotal role of DGCA in ensuring safety in civil aviation, the committee recommended that DGCA coordinate regularly with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), airport, and airline operators to ensure that its guidelines are implemented. It is also recommended that modern technology be used to prevent accidents. The Ministry of Civil Aviation was asked to review the safety mechanisms in place and ensure that DGCA has no budget or human resource constraints. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) which was established in 2012 as an independent organization from DGCA, for the investigation of Accidents and Serious Incidents was allotted only Rs.1 crore against the projected requirement of Rs. 4.4 crores in 2022-23. The committee recommended higher allocation at the Revised Estimates (RE) stage. Fill vacancies in ATCs to keep pace with future requirements says the Committee Noting the critical role of Airport Traffic Controllers (ATCs) to ensure safe operations of aircrafts, the committee pointed out the backlog in filling vacancies of ATCs. It recommended that the procedural issues in recruiting for ATCs be addressed to keep pace with the increasing requirement in the future. With respect to the airworthiness of aircraft engines, the committee observed that the safety and maintenance regulations should be strictly complied with, and heavy fines should be imposed on airline operators who violate the regulations. Citing the accidents that took place in Mangalore and Kozhikode airports in 2020, the committee suggested that the latest technological instruments be installed at all airports at the earliest to ensure smooth and safe landings even during thick fog conditions, and when visibility is zero. Installation of Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) at all functional airports was also recommended to be done at the earliest for safe landing of aircrafts at night or in bad weather conditions. The committee also recommended that a strict timeline be framed for the submission of reports on aircraft accidents that would otherwise be delayed. Issues related to drones, helicopters, and bird hits were also raised While appreciating the Ministry’s introduction of liberalized Drone Rules, 2021, the committee asked the Ministry to come up with policy provisions to promote the local manufacture of drones in the country. Furthermore, it noted that the Rules empower the Central Government to notify safety features to be installed on drones by persons owning them and asked the Ministry to do so at the earliest since drones have the potential to be misused. Stating that helicopter accidents have also claimed lives, the committee asked for details of such accidents in the last few years.