According to Indian aviation experts, there’s a requirement of 10,000 commercial pilots per year against the current supply of 8,000, of whom 1,100 are women – Paromita Sengupta The nationalisation of Tata Airlines and its transformation into the public sector monopolies Air India in 1948 and Indian Airlines in 1953, heralded a new age of commercial aviation in India. However, post 1991 when the Congress government headed by prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao liberalised and deregulated the socialist Indian economy, several private airlines — Indigo, SpiceJet, Vistara, GoAir, Air Asia, Jet Airways etc — have been flying Indian skies. Since then, air routes have multiplied and the demand for trained pilots in the domestic aviation industry has risen exponentially. According to Indian aviation experts, there’s a requirement of 10,000 trained pilots per year against the current supply of 8,000, of whom 1,100 are women. Consequently, commercial aviation is a lucrative and much sought after career option for youth, especially those with a penchant for flying and travel. Flying clubs (i.e, schools) provide practical training for aspiring commercial pilots who are obliged to obtain a commercial pilot’s licence (CPL) awarded to those who acquire stipulated experience of flying a wide range of aircraft as also of flying solo, cross country, night flying and a minimum number of take-offs and landings etc. India is currently facing an acute shortage of pilots because of its limited number of flying clubs (31 cf. USA’s 2,000) authorised to issue private pilot’s licences (PPLs) to trainee-aspirants. This has compelled domestic airlines to employ foreign pilots. Foreign licence holders are allowed to fly Indian skies after clearing a written exam conducted by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Study programmes The minimum eligibility for youth aspiring to qualify as commercial pilots is completion of Plus Two with physics and maths. There is no upper age limit to apply for a licence which are of three genres. A PPL allows you to fly two-four passenger small civilian aircraft; a commercial pilot’s licence allows you to fly small aircraft as well as co-pilot a passenger jet and an airline transport pilot’s licence (ATPL) qualifies you to fly all genres of aircraft. Training for a CPL/ATPL could cost between Rs.30-40 lakh. Eligible youth (with PPL) aspiring to work with reputed airlines are required to apply for a CPL after clocking 250 hours of flying (which takes 12-18 months) in a flying club approved by DGCA. In addition, they need to clear aviation subject exams and undergo medical examination also conducted by DGCA. Former Air Force pilots are also required to apply for civil aviation licences (see dgca.nic.in) which requires them to clear written aviation subject exams, an interview and few hours of flying in DGCA-approved flying clubs, before being licensed to fly passenger jets. Pay & progression A co-pilot of an airline company can expect a monthly salary package of Rs.2-3 lakh while a captain draws between Rs.6-10 lakh. Additionally, captains can work overtime to draw an additional 30…
