India's fast-growing aviation industry, which is facing a shortage of pilots, will need an estimated 6,000 more certified captains in the next five years.
At present, the booming airline industry is facing a shortage of approximately 1,000 qualified pilots, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Tuesday.
"With the present growth of the aviation industry, it has been estimated that in the next five years, 5,000 additional pilots would be required for scheduled operations and 1,000 pilots for non-scheduled and private operations," he said.
Patel said the government has taken various steps, including increasing the retirement age of pilots to 65 years and setting up of a training institute in Maharashtra, to reduce the demand-supply gap.
Other steps include upgradation and modernisation of infrastructure at the India Gandhi Rashtriya Udaan Akademi to enhance its training capacity from 40 to 100 pilots and reduce the training period.
He said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has not invited foreign pilots to work in the sector.
To another question, Patel said the government has approved the Civil Aviation Requirements prepared by the DGCA for carriage of physically challenged persons in flights in consultation with Airports Authority of India, Federation of Indian Airlines and NGOs.
"The government has since approved the CAR which will be formally issued by the DGCA," he said.
