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Speech

India Air Show

Let me begin by thanking the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry for this opportunity.

It doesn’t get more exciting than this, especially for those of us who love aviation. Air shows have a special way of connecting us with our past, our present, and our future.

This is especially true in India, and right here in Hyderabad, where aviation is growing so rapidly.

Just consider the spot where we stand at this precise moment. Think back to earlier this year on March 22^nd. Thai Airways flight 330 took off from this very site and closed an important chapter in India’s aviation history.

It was the last flight to take off from what’s now the old international airport, marking the end of more than 70 years of aviation operations.

At the same time, it opened a new chapter with the state-of-the-art Rajiv Gandhi International that many of us flew into earlier this week.

This is what aviation in India is all about — moving forward and opening new chapters. It’s about the future.

As you look to tomorrow, there’s no question that you’ll face many challenges as you expand your infrastructure. But you’re not alone.

These challenges are the very ones that confront us all as we look to ensure safety and improve operational efficiencies while we increase capacity.

Aviation is an economic driver for our countries, and we need to provide a system that’s capable of meeting future demand.

To help us succeed, we’ve established a Joint Aviation Steering Committee with working groups to address safety and efficiency issues.

We’re casting this net as widely as we can, promoting partnership and cooperation in areas like air traffic management, aircraft certification, airports, safety oversight, and the environment.

Through this partnership, we hope to learn from each other and find common threads that will lead us toward safety and efficiency solutions that benefit everyone.

A good example of something that works — the Commercial Aviation Safety Team — CAST. This international partnership is focused on preventing fatal aviation accidents before they happen.

To date, it’s identified 70 specific safety risks — and corresponding actions to mitigate those risks — in many areas.

They include Controlled Flight Into Terrain, Approach and Landing, Loss of Control, Runway Incursions, and Mid-Air Collisions. As a former line pilot, I can tell you that these areas are on our mind all the time. CAST really does make a difference.

When I talk about sharing information, it includes an even wider range of operational safety data, like information collected through ramp inspections.

If we broaden our databases to include info from more countries, we can pinpoint more recurring safety issues. This can help us avoid incidents and accidents before they become tomorrow’s headline.

Improving data sharing also means promoting voluntary safety information sharing.

We need to promote effective and non-punitive procedures for reporting potential safety issues. This applies to every tier of our aviation system.

Whether it’s a tower controller, a machinist on the production line, or a pilot in the cockpit, we need systems in place that are conducive to reporting safety issues.

In the United States, our effort to increase capacity centers on the Next Generation. It’s a major priority for me and every employee at the FAA. And I encourage you to visit our exhibit at the air show and see for yourself what NextGen is all about.

In the air and on the ground, NextGen means transformation to a more automated system, greater airport design flexibility, reduced physical footprint, reduced separation between runways, and a smaller environmental footprint.

The recent Ajay Prasad Committee report provides India with a similar path for its aviation system.

As our nations develop and implement our respective future aviation systems, we need to ensure that they’re harmonized.

This was one of the key points I underscored at the ICAO NextGen/SESAR Integration Forum in Montreal last month.

In the aviation system of the future, a pilot should find the same procedures whether flying into Dulles or Delhi, Hartsfield or Hyderabad.

It’s ambitious, I know, but it’s a big part of what we hope to accomplish through initiatives like our aviation partnership with India.

I also believe that, to make this partnership even stronger, it’s important to have the right people. And we do. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the FAA’s newest representative to India, Mr. Aaron Wilkins. Aaron, please stand up.

Aaron’s been with the FAA for over a decade.

Most recently, he was in our Beijing office, where he worked on a range of aviation activities, including the Olympics. Please take a minute to introduce yourselves to him when we’re done. Thanks, Aaron.

In closing, I would like to congratulate the Indian government and the Federal of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry for what they’ve accomplished here this week. I would also like to wish everyone in the audience a successful air show. As you meet with your colleagues and engage in aviation discussions here this week, remember to think global. Our future, and the future of aviation safety, depends on it.

Thank you.