India today possesses one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation ecosystems. Our aircraft orders are record-breaking, our airports world-class, and our market among the most dynamic anywhere.
Yet recent turbulence around flight-duty regulations and fatigue risks has shown something deeper than an operational disagreement. It has exposed a universal governance truth:
Our challenge is not regulation. Our challenge is accountability and effective risk mitigation.
We Do Not Suffer from a Rules Deficit
Globally and domestically, aviation is already among the most regulated industries on earth:
- ICAO’s Safety Management Systems norms guide carriers worldwide on aviation risks.
- DGCA’s Flight Duty Time Limit rules are grounded in well-established fatigue science.
- Indian law already imposes fiduciary obligations on boards and management.
- Criminal statutes cover negligence, falsification of records, corruption, and public endangerment.
From safety engineering to director duties, no major regulatory vacuum exists.
What does exist is something far more dangerous:
A credibility gap between regulation on paper and enforcement in practice.
Rules without consequence are ritual — not protection.
Where Governance Usually Fails
Governance breakdown is rarely spectacular. Governance risks evolve quietly through:
- Operational risk and pressures allowed to override safety margins.
- Data escalations softened before reaching boards.
- Workforce fatigue perceived primarily as an industrial relations issue rather than as a safety risk.
- Regulators constrained by capacity limits or procedural hesitation.
- Accountability diffused so widely that no one feels responsible.
None of these are rare phenomena. They occur in complex systems worldwide when compliance becomes performative rather than intentional.
The risk is not that people deliberately choose danger.
The risk is that they become comfortable inside unsafe margins.
Accountability Is the Real Safety Infrastructure
Safety is not delivered by checklists alone. It is sustained by consequences and risk management following breaches.
Three pillars form the backbone of effective aviation risk governance anywhere in the world:
1. Clear Ownership
Boards must treat safety as a fiduciary obligation equal to financial solvency. Good board leadership involves personally reviewing fatigue metrics, roster risk maps, and escalation logs. Safety must sit on the board agenda, not only in the operations committee.
2. Independent Investigation
When credible safety concerns arise, inquiries cannot remain departmental. Risk assessments can be conducted by independent investigation teams with forensic authority who are required to audit records and communications — impartially and professionally.
3. Swift Adjudication
Unsafe operations are not purely administrative breaches. Where workforce risks and public endangerment appears, justice must be both swift and visible. Prolonged legal uncertainty undermines deterrence and public trust.
This is precisely why many countries operate specialised safety tribunals or dedicated aviation courts — not to bypass justice, but to deliver it without procedural paralysis.
Culture Cannot Be Legislated — But It Can Be Governed
Most safety failures stem from culture rather than ignorance.
According to the Institute of Risk Management (IRM), world’s leading certifying body for Enterprise Risk Management exams across 140 countries, risk culture refers to the values, beliefs, knowledge, attitudes and understanding about risk shared by a group of people with a common purpose — in particular, the employees of an organisation. It shapes “how things are done” when it comes to risk-taking, decision-making, and behaviour.
Culture determines whether:
- frontline staff escalate concerns without fear,
- boards welcome uncomfortable data,
- regulators exercise authority early instead of reacting late.
Culture cannot be mandated through circulars.
But it can be governed by leadership intent, transparency and accountability.
The corporate executive boards of airlines, regulators, and ministries alike must create environments where safety escalation strengthens careers rather than jeopardises them.
Silence must cost more than speaking up.
The Future: From Rule-Writing to Trust-Building
India’s aviation expansion must now be matched by governance evolution.
What we require next is not more regulation — but:
- Independent safety investigations when issues surface.
- Timebound adjudication procedures for public-risk cases.
- Transparency in safety disclosures thereby minimizing regulatory risk.
- Board-level accountability linking safety outcomes to leadership compensation and tenure.
Above all, we require a shared understanding that:
Safety dishonesty is not an operational lapse — it is a reputational risk created as a result of the breach of public trust.
And public trust is the only real licence to fly.
Building an Aviation System the World Can Trust
India stands at a choice point.
We can chase growth metrics alone — or we can become the global benchmark for trusted aviation governance:
- Where compliance is not cosmetic.
- Where culture values rest as much as revenue.
- Where justice is swift when safety is compromised.
- Where boards see themselves not as business stewards alone — but as guardians of human life.
The future of Indian aviation does not depend upon how many planes we order.
It depends upon whether every leader in the ecosystem — corporate or public — understands this simple truth:
Accountability is the strongest safety system we have to ensure effective aviation risk management .
The author of this blog is Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman – Board Stewardship, Governance & Safety Stewardship Advocate
FAQS
1.What are the major issues the Indian aviation sector is facing?
The major issue the Indian aviation sector is facing revolves around governance breakdown. It evolves quietly through:
- Operational pressures allowed to override safety margins.
- Data escalations softened before reaching boards.
- Workforce fatigue is perceived primarily as an industrial relations issue rather than as a safety risk.
- Regulators constrained by capacity limits or procedural hesitation.
- Accountability diffused so widely that no one feels responsible.
None of these are rare phenomena. They occur in complex systems worldwide when
– compliance becomes performative rather than intentional.
– The risk is not that people deliberately choose danger. The risk is that they become comfortable inside unsafe margins.
2. What role should boards of airlines play in ensuring aviation safety and accountability?
Boards of airlines can ensure aviation safety and accountability in the following manner –
- Boards must treat safety as a fiduciary obligation equal to financial solvency. They should personally review fatigue metrics, roster risk maps, and escalation logs. Safety must sit on the board agenda, not only in the operations committee.
- Most safety failures stem from culture rather than ignorance. Culture cannot be mandated through circulars. But it can be governed by leadership intent, transparency and accountability. The boards of airlines must create environments where safety escalation strengthens careers rather than jeopardises them.
- Boards must prioritise governance evolution and match it to India’s aviation expansion. Board-level accountability linking safety outcomes to leadership compensation and tenure is the need of the hour.
- Boards must see themselves not as business stewards alone — but as guardians of human life. In order for India to become the global benchmark for trusted aviation governance, boards of Indian airlines must understand this simple truth: Accountability is the strongest safety system we have.
