1000 IAF pilots stuck in ground jobs; Commercial aviation lacks 220 pilots
New Delhi: At least 1,000 fit and trained pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) are stuck in ground and desk jobs mainly because the force does not have enough aircraft, according to classified air force documents.
The government spent about Rs 5,000 crore in training these pilots to fly combat and other aircraft, says one of these documents seen by the Hindustan Times.
The air force currently has 3,068 pilots. Against that it has 790 aircraft — 340 fighters, 450 transports and helicopters. Only half the fleet is available at any given time, with the remaining being serviced. The air force plans to reduce its transport fleet further by about 40 per cent by 2010, according to another IAF document.
Although the IAF has put a large number of its pilots on non-flying duties, it says it still faces a shortage. In a reply faxed to the Hindustan Times, it said: “IAF continues to have shortages in the flying branch.”
The air force maintains that since a huge amount of money is spent on training pilots, they cannot be easily allowed to leave the force to join the private sector.
According to government figures presented this year in Parliament, there is a shortage of around 220 commercial pilots. In the next five years, with the expansion in the civil aviation sector, the figure is expected to reach 5,000.
The IAF’s argument on not relieving pilots contradicts its own classified policy document — Vision 2020, which states that a pilot who has served the force for 15 years should be allowed to leave.
“The cost of training an officer is recovered after eight years of service. In the proposed career progression versus age profile, an officer would have a reasonable idea of where he stands after 15 years of service. At this juncture the officers be permitted an outlet, with a golden handshake,” the 2020 document says.
“Those officers superannuating during the next one year are being sponsored. At 54 years of age, an IAF pilot would have contributed adequately to the objectives of service. For civil aviation, one can fly till 65 years. Hence they can be utilised for as much as 11 years after they leave,” the IAF has said in its written response.
25/05/07 Nagendar Sharma/Hindustan Times