Aviation India: Careers

New Delhi: Faced with a mounting shortage of over 500 commercial pilots every year, action has been initiated on several fronts to mitigate the problem. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will reduce the period for acquiring a commercial pilot licence (CPL) from 16 to 12 months, and will introduce an multi-engine pilot licence (MPL) in 2007. The DGCA will also grant CPL to about 250 foreign pilots in Q1 next year.
Besides, DGCA will acquire about 11 trainer aircraft from the Aero Club of India, and distribute them to top aviation training academies at a cost of Rs 1 crore per aircraft. “A new pilot training institute in Gondia near Nagpur will also be opened for which expressions of interest (EOIs) have already been invited from foreign companies for collaboration.
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The intake per session for the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) will be increased to 100 from 40 at present,” DGCA director general Kanu Gohain told ET.
Currently, about 500 pilots are needed per year, whereas only 200 pilots are being produced in India. With these measures, DGCA plans to increase the availability to about 400 pilots. There are about 39 pilot training schools in the country now.
30/12/06 Vishakha Talreja & Harsimran Singh/Economic Times

Nasik: Young tribals in the state are getting ready to greet you as air hostesses, flight stewards and ground handlers at airports.
Cashing in on the aviation boom, the state government has decided to train 100 people through a programme likely to commence mid-January, which will be funded by the Maharashtra State Tribal Development Department.
“We are looking at candidates who have completed the Higher Secondary Certificate and have received 500 applications,” Maharashtra State Tribal Development Commissioner Rajesh Kumar told HT. The state has held talks with several training academies for training candidates. Trade analysts believe the aviation sector, which is growing exponentially, will need an additional 5,000 cabin crew over the next few years.
Kumar said his department has also spoken to airlines, which have shown a willingness to absorb adivasi candidates.
29/12/06 Zeeshan Shaikh and Lalatendu Mishra/Hindustan Times

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is considering upgrading the syllabus of pilots to ensure that all of them get automatically trained to operate at least the Category-II Instrument Landing System to overcome low visibility problems.
"We are thinking on those lines ... to modify the syllabus so that every pilot in the country can be CAT-II compliant," DGCA chief Kanu Gohain told reporters here.
DGCA was also considering relaxing flight take-off norms during foggy weather to allow planes to fly at low runway visibility conditions.
"The proposal is on the drawing board. We have had meetings with the airlines. Europe also faces same problems (of fog). So we are studying the regulations prevalent there as well as in the US (prepared by the Federal Aviation Authority)", Gohain said in reply to questions on the proposal to allow the 'Low Take Off Minima'.
28/12/06 PTI/The Hindu

The Aviation boom in the country has lead more and more women pilots flying high. The cockpit is no longer just a man's privilege as more and more women pilots take to the skies, their careers are certainly set to take off. The number of commercial women pilots in Indian skies has soared in the last few years.
Three years ago there were just 50 women pilots, today the number is 200 and its expected to reach 400 by the end of next year. Air Deccan has the highest number of female pilots at 40. Jet Airways has 25, Kingfisher has 15. Experts say the boom is because of a change in mindsets.
Smriti Bhat, First Officer, Air Deccan says, "Like any profession its also very demanding, you always have to be ahead of your aircraft. Lives of 180 passengers depend on you, but its a very exciting job and more women should get in to it."
13/12/06 Times Now.tv

The government on Tuesday admitted an acute shortage of trained pilots in the aviation industry saying it is estimated that a total of 2,000 to 3,000 pilots would be required in the next two to three years to meet the shortfall.
“Keeping in view the present trend of growth in the civil aviation sector it is estimated that a total of 2,000 to 3,000 pilots would be required in the next two to three years,” minister of state for civil aviation Praful Patel informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
He said the government has also decided to set up a state-of-art pilot training school in Gondia district of Vadodara.
12/12/06 Financial Express

New Delhi: The IAF policy to tighten screws on pilots scrambling to join the much-greener pastures in civilian airlines has had the desired effect: As compared to almost 300 pilots who left the force between 2002 and 2005, only about 20 have managed to do so this year.
Latest figures show the new measures have led to a situation wherein the force is now only 210 short of its authorised strength of 3,278 pilots.
As was first reported by Times Of India, haemorrhaging under the onslaught of the booming civil aviation sector, IAF had "tightened controls"on the "premature release"of its pilots towards mid-2005.
This had come after 72 pilots proceeded on "premature retirement" in 2003, followed by 116 in 2004, and another 58 in 2005. Swinging into action, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi had overturned his predecessor S Krisnaswamy's "liberal policy"of releasing "disinterested pilots".
At last count, there were at least 200 applications still pending for "premature release"at IAF HQ, say sources.
But pilots can seek premature retirement only on three grounds now. One, if they have been superseded in their promotion boards. Two, if they are medically unfit. And three, on "extreme compassionate grounds".
11/12/06 Rajat Pandit/Times of India

Ekansh Tyagi, an 18-year-old from New Delhi and two of his fellow flight school students at Windsor, Ont. found themselves answering pointed queries about why they had journeyed so close to the American border. "They asked me if I was involved in terrorist activities and I just laughed," says Tyagi. A dark complexion and an interest in aircraft is enough to raise suspicions these days.
Asia's expanding economies have created a huge demand for new pilots, and with American skies still all but closed to foreign student flyers, companies north of the border are happily picking up the slack. Even if it means subjecting themselves -- and their trainees -- to the scrutiny of police, intelligence services, and security-obsessed members of the local community.
Aviation International Canada, the Guelph, Ont., flight school that Tyagi attends, started advertising its services in India a little over a year ago. It now has 29 foreign students enrolled in a one-year course for the licence and equipment ratings needed to fly commercial aircraft.
The school has been receiving regular visits from Guelph police, the OPP, RCMP, and CSIS. Staff pass along photocopies of all foreign applications, even their rejects.
Harvsair, which operates flight schools in the Winnipeg-area communities of Steinbach and St. Andrew's, training some 250 foreign pilots a year, also finds itself under the microscope.
For the most part, the pilots-in-training seem unfazed by the occasional rude welcome. Devendra Sasne, a 22-year-old from Puna, near Mumbai, who arrived in Guelph in mid-October, says he expected the scrutiny.
Adam Penner, operations manager for Harvsair, bristles at the extra government attention that the foreign influx has attracted: "The Oklahoma City bombing proved that you have to watch out for white guys in vans, too," he says.
06/12/06 Jonathon Gatehouse/Macleans, Canada

Mumbai: Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had to fly to Nagpur for the winter session in a private aircraft as the state government aircraft did not have an official pilot. It still doesn’t.
The only pilot, who turned 65 on November 14, had allegedly given an incorrect birthdate so that he could serve for three more years.
Navin Srivatsava and co-pilot Nitu Gupta were responsible to fly the state government aircraft B350 and the helicopter. The state government had plans to continue the pilot despite being known that he was overaged. But the state received a letter from the Director General, Civil Aviation, directing it to stop using Srivatsava’s services.
“The government has been trying to appoint one more pilot, but the meagre salary prevents any professional pilot coming government’s way,” the official said, seeking anonymity.
Co-pilot Neetu Gupta has acquired the status of an independent pilot after flying for more than 300 hours. “But the aircraft cannot be flown without two pilots,” an ex-pilot with Air India said.
Y Kothari, Director, Civil Aviation Department said, “We are carrying an advertisement for pilots. The Air Force has suggested some names to us. It’s true that we had to discontinue our pilot’s service after we received the letter two days ago.” Interestingly, the government has invited tenders for new JET 400XP aircraft, but no company has shown interest yet, thus forcing the government to extend the tender date.
05/12/06 Surendra Gangan/Daily News & Analysis

Chandigarh: The top brass of Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training, Sector 34, has been slapped with a criminal case for allegedly defrauding a youth of one lakh rupees on the promise of getting him a 'bright' job in some airlines.
Its centre head, Kamal Saini, director, Rakesh Aggarwal, and chairman, Kulwinder Singh, have been charged with breach of trust , cheating, criminal threat and criminal conspiracy. The police registered a case on the direction of a local court, where the complainant, Sandip, had moved an application in July alleging fraud and cheating by the institute.
Sandip said he was assured of a training course with a wide syllabus but the educational standards did not meet the institute's claims. The institute, he added, had also assured him of a job. The police said he left the course midway in 'disgust' and wanted his money back. The centre denied it and its official allegedly threatened him with dire consequences when he persisted with his demands, the police said.
03/12/06 Times of India