Lok Sabha Question No. 252 (STARRED), answered on 2024-08-08
Subject: Growth of Civil Aviation Industry
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Smt. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Dr. Rani Srikumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION Lok Sabha

STARRED QUESTION NO. : 252

( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE  8th August 2024 )

## GROWTH OF CIVIL AVIATION INDUSTRY

252.    DR. RANI SRIKUMAR SMT KANIMOZHI KARUNANIDHI

Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- (a)  the  details  of  potential  growth  of  Civil  Aviation  Industry  in  the country  and  the  number  of  Captains,  Pilots  and  Airline  crew  staff required to cater to the need;
- (b)  the  details  of the  shortage of Captains, Pilots and Airline crew staff in the Civil Aviation Industry of the country;
- (c) the manner in which the Government has planned to tackle the pilot shortage issues in the Civil Aviation Industry in the country;
- (d)  the  details  of the  number of pilot training institutes along with the average cost of pilot training in the country; and
- (e)  the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  make  pilot  training affordable  and  accessible  to  people  from  poorer  socio-  economic backgrounds?

## ANSWER

Minister of CIVIL AVIATION      (Shri Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu)

(a) to (e) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) IN RESPECT OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 252 FOR REPLY ON 08.08.2024 REGARDING GROWTH OF CIVIL AVIATION INDUSTRY ASKED BY DR. RANI SRIKUMAR AND SMT. KANIMOZHI KARUNANIDHI; (a) and (b) The Government  has  formulated  the  National  Civil  Aviation Policy, 2016 to provide a conductive ecosystem for overall growth  of  the  Indian  Aviation  Sector,  which  involves infrastructure development of airports through Greenfield projects  as  well  as  under  the  UDAN  scheme.  The  airline operators induct new aircraft in their fleet to cater to the growing  demand  of  air  transport.  The  details  of  orders placed by major airlines are at Annexure-I. Ministry of Civil Aviation does  not maintain any such  data regarding number of Captains, Pilots and Airline crew staff required to cater to the need.    Presently, there is no shortage of Pilots  and  Airline  Crews  in  the  Indian  Aviation  Sector. The  number  of  Commercial  Pilot  Licenses  (CPLs)  issued during  last  five years  is  as  mentioned  below:    Year Issued CPLs 2019                                     744 2020 578  2021                                                                          862  2022

1165 2023                                  1622 2024 (till 17.07.2024) 739 Total                                   5710    (c) The steps being

taken  to  augment  the  supply  of  trained  pilots  in  the country  are  as  follows:-    (i)  To  augment  the  supply  of trained pilots in the country, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has brought out a liberalised Flying Training Organisation (FTO) policy whereby the concept of airport royalty (revenue share payment by FTOs to AAI) has been abolished and land rentals have been significantly rationalised.    (ii)  After  a  competitive  bidding  process  in two  phases  in  2021  and  2022,  respectively,  AAI  has

| awarded 15 FTO slots at 10 airports. The present status of these slots is below:- ; Airports No. of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | awarded 15 FTO slots at 10 airports. The present status of these slots is below:- ; Airports No. of   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Slots                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  | Status; Belagavi (Karnataka)                                                                          |
| 2 1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | Operational; Jalgaon                                                                                  |
| (Maharashtra) 2                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | All                                                                                                   |
| Operational; Kalaburagi (Karnataka)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | 2                                                                                                     |
| All Operational; Khajuraho (Madhya All Operational; Lilabari (Assam)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | Pradesh) 2                                                                                            |
| Operational;; Bhavnagar (Gujarat)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | 1                                                                                                     |
| 1 Operational; Hubballi (Karnataka)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | 2 1                                                                                                   |
| Under Process; Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                     |
| Under Process; Kishangarh (Rajasthan)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  | 1                                                                                                     |
| Operational; Salem (Tamil Nadu) Operational (iii) Directorate General                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  | 1                                                                                                     |
| of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has introduced Online-On Demand Examination (OLODE) for the Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AME) Flying Crew (FC) candidates with effect from November 2021. This facility allows candidates to choose the date and time from the available exam slots. (iv) DGCA modified its regulations to empower Flying Instructors with the right to authorise flight operations at FTOs. This was earlier restricted to the Chief Flying Instructor (CFI) or Deputy CFIs only. (v) DGCA issued regulation, CAR-147 (Basic) - approved Basic maintenance Training organisation. The regulations are in line with international standards of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and harmonised as per EASA regulations. regulation streamlines the syllabus and skilled training requirements for the development of competent/ skilled manpower for maintenance of aircraft. These reforms have facilitated growth of FTOs and consequently number of CPLs have increased in recent years. (d) Currently, | and has The                                                                                           |

there  are  37  Flying  Training  Organizations  (FTOs)  in  the country operating at 57 bases which are imparting flying training  to  cadets.  List  of  these  FTOs  is  attached  as Annexure-II.        The  cost  of  training  in  Indira  Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) is Rs 45 lacs. It includes Rs  16  lacs  as  fuel  cost,  Rs  25  lacs  as  Flying  Instructor Cost,  Maintenance  of  Aircraft  and  other  Administrative Cost and Rs 4 lacs as Simulator and Ground Classes.  (e) To  reduce  the  cost  of  aviation  courses,  Ministry  of  Civil Aviation has approved liberalised Flying Training Organisation  (FTO)  guidelines  wherein  the  concept  of airport  royalty  (revenue  share  payment  by  FTOs  to  AAI) has been abolished and land rentals have been significantly  rationalised.  Further,  no  additional  charges shall be levied from FTOs over and above the Lease Fee or Concession Fee, whichever is higher.

## Annexure I ANNEXURE IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 252 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 08.08.2024

## Aircraft orders placed by Major Airlines

| S. No.   | Name of the operator                 | Type of aircraft   |   No. of aircraft ordered | Year   | No. of aircraft already imported as on 30.06.2024   | Tentative timelines for induction   |
|----------|--------------------------------------|--------------------|---------------------------|--------|-----------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 1        | Air India Group                      | A320/A321          |                       210 | 2023   | 23                                                  | 2023 to 2032                        |
| 1        | Air India Group                      | A350               |                        40 | 2023   | 6                                                   | 2023 to 2032                        |
| 1        | Air India Group                      | B787               |                        20 | 2023   | -                                                   | 2025 to 2034                        |
| 1        | Air India Group                      | B777               |                        10 | 2023   | -                                                   | 2025 to 2034                        |
| 1        | Air India Group                      | B737-8             |                       190 | 2023   | 22                                                  | 2023 to 2032                        |
| 2        | InterGlobe Aviation Limited (Indigo) | A320               |                       400 | 2015   | 205                                                 | Ongoing                             |
| 2        | InterGlobe Aviation Limited (Indigo) | Family A320        |                       300 | 2019   | -                                                   | 2025 onwards                        |
| 2        | InterGlobe Aviation Limited (Indigo) | Family A320        |                       500 | 2023   | -                                                   | 2030 onwards                        |
| 2        | InterGlobe Aviation Limited (Indigo) | Family A350        |                        30 | 2024   |                                                     |                                     |
| 2        | InterGlobe Aviation Limited (Indigo) | ATR 72- 212A (600  |                        50 | 2017   | 45                                                  | Ongoing                             |
| 3        | SNVAviation Pvt. Ltd. (Akasa Air)    | Version) 13737-8   |                        76 | 2021   | 23                                                  | Ongoing and will be inducted until  |
| 3        | SNVAviation Pvt. Ltd. (Akasa Air)    | B737-8             |                       150 | 2024   | -                                                   | 2028 2027 to 2032                   |
| Total    | Total                                | Total              |                      1976 |        | 324                                                 |                                     |

Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)

## Note:

1. Aircraft induction by the airline operators would be accompanied with redelivery/export  of  their  existing  aircraft  in  line  with  expiry  of  the  lease periods. The aircraft induction would therefore cater for  increase in airline fleet as well as replacement of existing fleet over the time.
2. Airline  operators  would  plan/optimize  their  fleet  over  the  time  based on commercial considerations.

## ANNEXURE II

## ANNEXURE IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 252 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 08.08.2024

## STATE-WISE DISTRIBUTION OF FLYING TRAINING ORGANISATIONS

| State          |   Number of FTOs |
|----------------|------------------|
| Bihar          |                1 |
| Gujarat        |                2 |
| Haryana        |                2 |
| Jharkhand      |                1 |
| Karnataka      |                2 |
| Kerala         |                1 |
| Madhya Pradesh |                5 |
| Maharashtra    |                8 |
| Odisha         |                1 |
| Punjab         |                1 |
| Rajasthan      |                2 |
| Tamil Nadu     |                1 |
| Telangana      |                4 |
| Uttar Pradesh  |                6 |
| Total          |               37 |

Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation

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