Lok Sabha Question No. 2477 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-03
Subject: Shortage of Pilots
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Guman Singh Damor

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION Lok Sabha

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 2477 ( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE  3rd August 2023 )

## SHORTAGE OF PILOTS

## 2477.    SHRI GUMAN SINGH DAMOR Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- (a)  the  efforts  being  made  to  address  the  shortage  of  Pilots  and Maintenance Engineers;
- (b) the details of the Government and Non-governmental institutions
- engaged in the training of Pilots;
- (c) the  number  of  Commercial  Pilot  Licenses  (Aeroplane  and Helicopters)  and  Airline  Transport  Pilot  Licenses  (Aeroplane  and Helicopters) issued during the last nine years;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  increase  the  number  of domestic and international air routes due to the increasing number of  domestic  and  international  passengers  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (e) whether the Government proposes to expand the airports due to the increasing number of flight passengers and volume of cargo, if
- so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (f) whether the Government is likely to consider the said proposals and if so, the details thereof; and
- (g) the details of the measures being taken to reduce air fares and to make flight journey safer?

## ANSWER

Minister of State in the Ministry of (GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD))

CIVIL  AVIATION

- (a)  Currently,  there  are  36  Flying  Training  Organisations  (FTOs)  in the  country  operating  at  57  bases.  There  are  54  AME  Training Institutes approved by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

A total of 1165 CPLs were issued in 2022. The estimated supply of engineers  from  DGCA  approved  AME  Training  Institutes  is  around 3500 per year to cater to the demands of the aviation industry. (b) The list of DGCA approved FTOs is attached as Annexure.;

- (c)  Details  of  Commercial  Pilot  License  (CPL)  (Aeroplane  and Helicopter)  and  Airline  Transport  Pilot  License  (ATPL)  (Aeroplane and Helicopter) issued during last nine years is as follows:-

;

| Year              | CPL (Aeroplane and; Helicopter)   | ATPL (Aeroplane and Helicopter)   |
|-------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| 2015              | 394                               | 421                               |
| 2016              | 537                               | 482                               |
| 2017              | 552                               | 501                               |
| 2018              | 640                               | 599                               |
| 2019              | 744                               | 752                               |
| 2020              | 578                               | 398                               |
| 2021              | 862                               | 472                               |
| 2022              | 1165                              | 720                               |
| 2023              | 993                               | 407                               |
| (till 24.07.2023) | (till 24.07.2023)                 |                                   |
| Total             | 6465                              | 4752;                             |

- (d)  With  repeal  of  Air  Corporation  Act  in  March  1994,  the  Indian domestic  aviation  sector  was  deregulated.  Airlines  are  free  to induct  capacity  with  any  aircraft  type,  free  to  select  whatever markets  and  network  they  wish  to  service  and  operate  with  the compliance of Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) issued by Government. Hence, it is up to the airline operators to consider the introduction  of    air  services  to/from  any  airport  in  the  country depending upon their operational and commercial viabilities.;
- ;

International  operations  are  governed  by  the  bilateral  agreement between Government of India,  Government  of  foreign  country  and issue of traffic rights granted by Ministry of Civil Aviation.;

(e)  and (f) To meet the growing air traffic demands, AAI and other Airport Operators have targeted capital outlay of approximately Rs. 98,000 crore in the airport sector during 2019-2024 for construction of Greenfield Airports and new terminals, expansion and modernisation of existing terminals and strengthening of runways, among other activities.

Besides, Regional Connectivity Scheme - Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN) also aims for revival and development of un-served and under-served airports/ heliports/ water aerodromes of State Government, AAI, Civil Enclaves, CPSUs for operations of the UDAN flights. An airport which is included in the awarded routes of UDAN and requires upgradation/development for commencement of UDAN operations, is developed under 'Revival of unserved and underserved airports' scheme.

- (g)  As  per  prevailing  regulation,  airfare  is  neither  required  to  be established  nor  to  be  regulated  by  the  Government.  Under  the provision of Sub Rule (1) of Rule 135 of Aircraft Rules, 1937, every air  transport  undertaking  engaged  in  scheduled  air  services  was required to establish tariff having regard to all relevant factors.;

There is a systematic safety oversight process in place for monitoring the compliance of Rules and Civil Aviation Requirements by the airlines. This is a continuous process and includes surveillances, spot  checks  and  regulatory  audits  embodied  in Annual  Surveillance  Plan  (ASP)  of  Directorate  General  of  Civil Aviation  (DGCA).  The  findings  of  safety  oversight  exercises  are communicated  to  the  concerned  operator  for  compliance  and  the observations are closed only after due verification. In case of any violations/  non-compliance  to  regulations  detected  during  audit/ surveillance, enforcement  action  including financial penalty is imposed by the DGCA. ;

DGCA  ensures  the  safety  of  passenger  and  aircraft  through  the mechanism of inspections like main base inspection, station facility inspection, ramp inspection, Cabin enroute inspection, EDTO, cockpit  enroute  inspection,  regulatory  audit  (planned/unplanned) under the annual surveillance programme of DGCA. DGCA has taken the following steps to enhance safety of operations and ensure safe travel of passengers: (i) Airlines have been directed to increase their engineering capabilities at all airports where they operate to ensure availability of spare and qualifies manpower. (ii) DGCA has increased its spot checks on aircraft of airlines. (iii)  DGCA  has  directed  airlines  to  ensure  adequate  availability  of spares.

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## Annexure

## ANNEXURE IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2477 FOR ANSWER ON 03.08.2023

## STATE-WISE LIST OF FLYING TRAINING ORGANISATIONS

|   S No | State          | Name                                         | Ownership Type                               | Additional bases                                                |
|--------|----------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | Bihar          | Bihar Flying Institute                       | State Government                             |                                                                 |
|      2 | Gujarat        | Ahmedabad Aviation & Aeronautics Ltd.,       | Private Ltd.                                 | Mehsana Airstrip, Ahmedabad, Gujarat                            |
|      3 | Gujarat        | Gujarat FlyingClub,                          | Section 25 Company (Deemed Charitable Trust) | Amreli, Gujarat                                                 |
|      4 | Haryana        | Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation          | State Government                             | 1. Hisar, Haryana 2. Pinjore, Haryana                           |
|      5 | Haryana        | FSTC Flying School Private Ltd               | Private Ltd.                                 | Narnaul, Haryana                                                |
|      6 | Jharkhand      | Alchemist Aviation Pvt. Ltd.                 | Private Ltd.                                 |                                                                 |
|      7 | Karnataka      | Govt. Flying Training School                 | State Government                             |                                                                 |
|      8 | Karnataka      | Orient Flight Aviation Academy               | Private Ltd.                                 |                                                                 |
|      9 | Kerala         | Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology | State Government                             |                                                                 |
|     10 | Madhya Pradesh | Chimes Aviation Academy,                     | Private Ltd.                                 | Neemuch Airstrip, Jaysingpura, Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh - 458441 |

|   S No | State          | Name                                          | Ownership Type   | Additional bases                                                                            |
|--------|----------------|-----------------------------------------------|------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|     11 | Madhya Pradesh | Madhya Pradesh Flying Club, Indore            | Private Ltd.     | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.                                                                     |
|     12 | Madhya Pradesh | Sha-ShibFlying Academy,                       | Society          |                                                                                             |
|     13 | Madhya Pradesh | Jet Serve Aviation Pvt. Ltd.                  | Private Ltd.     |                                                                                             |
|     14 | Maharashtra    | Academy of Carver Aviation,                   | Private Ltd.     |                                                                                             |
|     15 | Maharashtra    | Blue Ray Aviation                             | Private Ltd.     | Mahesana, Gujarat                                                                           |
|     16 | Maharashtra    | Nagpur Flying Club                            | State Government |                                                                                             |
|     17 | Maharashtra    | National Flying Training Institute, Pvt. Ltd, | Private Ltd.     |                                                                                             |
|     18 | Maharashtra    | Redbird Flight Training Academy Pvt. Ltd.     | Private Ltd.     | 1. Seoni, Madhya Pradesh 2. Lilabari, Assam 3. Kalaburagi, Karnataka 4. Belagavi, Karnataka |
|     19 | Maharashtra    | SVKM NMIMS Academy of Aviation                | Private Ltd.     |                                                                                             |
|     20 | Maharashtra    | SKYNEX Aero Pvt. Ltd.                         | Private Ltd.     |                                                                                             |
|     21 | Maharashtra    | The BombayFlying Club,                        | Private Ltd.     | 1. Dhule, Maharashtra                                                                       |
|     22 | Odisha         | Govt. Aviation Training Institute,            | State Government | Birasal, Odisha                                                                             |
|     23 | Punjab         | Patiala Aviation Club                         | State Government | Amritsar, Punjab                                                                            |
|     24 | Rajasthan      | Banasthali Vidyapith Gliding Flying Club      | Society          |                                                                                             |

|   S No | State         | Name                                      | Ownership Type     | Additional bases                                                                         |
|--------|---------------|-------------------------------------------|--------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|     25 | Tamil Nadu    | Ekvi Air Training Organisation            | Private            |                                                                                          |
|     26 | Telangana     | Asia Pacific Flight Training Academy Ltd. | Private Ltd.       | 1. Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad, Telangana (2015) 2. Kalaburagi Airport, Karnataka (2021) |
|     27 | Telangana     | Flytech Aviation Academy,                 | Public Ltd.        | Nagarjun Sagar, Andhra Pradesh                                                           |
|     28 | Telangana     | Telangana State Aviation Academy,         | State Government   |                                                                                          |
|     29 | Telangana     | Wings AviationPvt. Ltd.,                  | Private Ltd.       |                                                                                          |
|     30 | Uttar Pradesh | Ambitions Flying Club Pvt.Ltd             | Private Ltd.       |                                                                                          |
|     31 | Uttar Pradesh | Chetak Aviation                           | Society            |                                                                                          |
|     32 | Uttar Pradesh | Falcon Aviation Academy                   | Trust              | Rewa, Madhya Pradesh (2019)                                                              |
|     33 | Uttar Pradesh | Garg AviationLtd. UP                      | Private Ltd.       |                                                                                          |
|     34 | Uttar Pradesh | Indira Gandhi RashtriyaUdan Akademy       | Central Government | 1 Gondia, Maharashtra 2 Kalaburagi, Karnataka                                            |
|     35 | Uttar Pradesh | Pioneer Flying AcademyPvt. Ltd            | Private Ltd.       |                                                                                          |
|     36 | Uttar Pradesh | Saraswati Aviation Academy                | Trust              |                                                                                          |

Source:  Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)

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