There is no shortage of pilots in the country. Currently, there are 34 Flying Training Organizations (FTOs) in the country operating at 55 bases which are imparting flying training to cadets. In the current year 2023 (till October), a total of 1371 CPLs have been issued so far and the trend indicates a sharp increase in number of CPLs issued in comparison to previous years.

The Government has taken several steps to establish more flying schools across the country to train greater number of commercial pilots. These include the following:

I. In 2021, after a competitive bidding process, AAI awarded nine FTO slots at five airports at Belagavi (Karnataka), Jalgaon (Maharashtra), Kalaburagi (Karnataka), Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh) and Lilabari (Assam). As on 30th June 2022, four of these FTOs are operational: one each at Jalgaon and Lilabari, and two at Kalaburagi. Among these FTOs, Helicopter training is being imparted at Khajuraho.

II. In June 2022, after a competitive bidding process, six more FTO slots were awarded by AAI at five airports namely: Bhavnagar (Gujarat), Hubballi (Karnataka), Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh), Kishangarh (Rajasthan) and Salem (Tamil Nadu). Of these, one FTO slot at Salem is operational.

III. India's largest flying academy - Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) at Amethi (Uttar Pradesh) - has been permitted to carry out pilot training in Gondia (Maharashtra) and Kalaburagi (Karnataka) to enhance its flying hours and aircraft utilisation.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Gen. (Dr) V. K. Singh (Retd) in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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YB/PS