'No English, no licence for pilots'

New Delhi: Facing a desperate shortage of trained local commanders, Indian carriers’ hunt for them abroad is now taking them to places where people may know how to fly but not speak English. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last week shot down the request of two foreign pilots for getting their commercial pilot licences validated in India. The reason — A Brazilian pilot being eyed by Jet Airways was not proficient in English and the other hired by a general aviation company did not have his papers in order.
Earlier this year, as many as 25 foreign flyers were turned down for this reason. The second pilot, an American, did not have all his papers and was rejected.
On its part, Jet Airways — which has the highest number of foreign pilots among Indian carriers — says it uses the service of an expat only after being cleared by DGCA. “When the required clearance is not given, we don’t hire such a foreign pilot,” said an airline spokesperson.
Indian carriers currently have a total of 804 foreign pilots, with Jet leading the pack with 271, followed by Deccan-Kingfisher combine at 244 fliers. All of Jet’s 58 Cat-III compliant pilots are foreigners, according to the aviation ministry.
With the dollar weakening, more and more Indian carriers are looking to hire foreign pilots. Moreover, with its high pay package and a retirement age of 65 (as opposed to 60 in the West), India is also emerging as a natural destination for such fliers.
13/12/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India