The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has found multiple safety violations in Turkish Airlines operations during surprise inspections carried out between May 29 and June 2 at four major Indian airports -- Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru, it was announced on Wednesday.

Following the inspections, the DGCA has directed Turkish Airlines to ensure full adherence to ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices as well as Indian civil aviation rules.

The regulator warned that follow-up inspections will be conducted to verify ongoing compliance and urged the airline to promptly address the identified shortcomings.

Cargo checks found that Turkish Airlines was carrying dangerous goods, including explosives, without mandatory permission from the DGCA. The required documents were either missing or incomplete.

“The cargo contained Dangerous Goods for which permission required from DGCA for carriage of Explosives to/from over India. This was not found to be attached nor it was mentioned in the Dangerous Goods Declaration mentioned,” according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

At Bengaluru, the marshaller handling ground operations lacked proper authorisation and a valid competency card for marshalling functions.

“During the arrival of the aircraft, Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) was unavailable, and the arrival procedure was carried out by a technician instead. M/s Airworks is the authorised engineering service provider for Turkish Airlines,” the DGCA maintained.

The aviation watchdog also found that no Service Level Agreement (SLA) was in place between Turkish Airlines and its Ground Handling Agent (GHA).

“Equipment such as ladders, step ladders, trolleys, and Ground Power Units (GPUs) lacked proper accountability and monitoring at Hyderabad and Bengaluru, where Globe Ground India was providing ground services without formal handover from Celebi,” it added.

The DGCA emphasises its unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety and regulatory compliance of all foreign operators within Indian airspace.

“Turkish Airlines has been directed to address these findings promptly and ensure full compliance with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices as well as DGCA regulations. Further follow-up inspections will be conducted as necessary to ensure continuous safety oversight,” it noted.