Parliament Question: Pilot training capacity and pilot shortage in the country

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. : 25 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 2nd February 2026 PILOT TRAINING CAPACITY AND PILOT SHORTAGE IN THE COUNTRY 25. SHRI S NIRANJAN REDDY Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:- (a) the number of Commercial Pilot Licences (CPLs) issued during the last five years and the present pilot-to-aircraft ratio across Indian airlines; (b) whether it is a fact that nearly 40 per cent of Indian commercial pilots undergo training abroad, indicating inadequate domestic pilot training capacity, and if so, the reasons therefor; (c) the number, capacity, and geographical distribution of DGCA-approved pilot training institutes and flight training organisations (FTOs) in the country; and (d) the steps taken by Government to expand world-class pilot training infrastructure, reduce dependence on foreign training, ensure affordability, and address the anticipated pilot shortage in the coming decade? ANSWER Minister of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu) (a) to (d) A statement is laid on the Table of the House ******]STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (D) IN RESPECT OF RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 25 FOR REPLY ON 02.02.2026 REGARDING PILOT TRAINING CAPACITY AND PILOT SHORTAGE IN THE COUNTRY BY SHRI S NIRANJAN REDDY (a) The number of CPLs issued in the last 5 years are 6,648. Present overall pilot to aircraft ratio across Indian airlines is 8.4. (b) Since year 2016, approximately 40 percent of CPLs have been issued to cadets trained from foreign institutes. The choice of training organization is dependent on multitude of factors viz. type of aircraft, duration of training, employment aspects and financial considerations. The training capacity at Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) approved Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) is adequate in terms of training infrastructure available at these FTOs. As on 22nd January 2026, there are 40 DGCA approved FTOs with 385 trainer aircraft available with them for imparting training to students. Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) Section 7, Series D, Part I stipulates Aircraft: Instructor:Student ratio as 1:1:10 which corresponds to training capacity of approximately 3500 students at these FTOs at any given point of time. (c) List of DGCA Approved Training Organizations (ATO) is attached as Annexure I. Further, there are 40 DGCA approved FTOs with 62 bases across country. The list is attached as Annexure II. (d) As an ongoing effort towards outflow retention, cost competitiveness and matching the anticipated capacity demand, the Ministry has undertaken various regulatory reforms in pilot training namely:- i) Implementation of the ranking framework to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of pilot training in India, while fostering a performance-driven and transparent training ecosystem. ii) Induction of 61 aircraft by FTOs in 2025 for expanding pilot training infrastructure in the country, bringing the total trainer aircraft tally to 385, till date, across Indian FTOs. iii) Revision to Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section 7, Series 'I', Part-V (Issue-II, Rev 08 Dt. 3rd January 2025), Designated Examiner's Manual, Flight Training Circular (FTC) 01 of 2025 to enhance training quality, standardize benchmarks and optimize capacity. iv) Ministry of Civil Aviation approved the Liberalized FTO Policy for improved operational viability and capacity of FTOs. Ministry of Civil Aviation is committed towards development of a world-class pilot training ecosystem in the country.ANNEXURE I ANNEXURE IN REPLY TO RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 25 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 02.02.2026 LIST OF GOVERNMENT DGCA APPROVED ATOS S. Approved ATO Location(s) Approved Aircraft / Helicopter No. 1 AAG Center for Aviation Chennai A320 2 Boeing Singapore Singapore B737 MAX, B777, B787 Gurugram & A320, B737-NG, Q400, ATR-72 3 FSTC Hyderabad (600) Greater Noida, 4 CSTPL Gurugram & A320, B737-NG Bengaluru 5 Airbus New Delhi A320 Mumbai, Hyderabad A320, B777, B787, ATR-72 6 CTE, Air India & Gurugram (TRG) (600) Hats-Off Helicopter Dauphin (AS365), Bell-412, 7 Bengaluru Training Dhruv Source: Directorate General of Civil AviationANNEXURE II ANNEXURE IN REPLY TO RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 25 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 02.02.2026 LIST OF GOVERNMENT DGCA APPROVED FTOS State Name of the FTOs Location of Flying Bases Andhra Flytech Aviation Academy 1. Nagarjuna Sagar Airfield. Guntur Pradesh Assam Redbird Flight Training 2. Lilabari Airport district North Lakhimpur Academy Pvt. Ltd. Bihar Bihar Flying Institute 3. Government of Bihar Cabinet Secretariate Civil Aviation Directorate, Patna Airport, Patna Gujarat Blue Ray Aviation Pvt .Ltd. 4. BRAPL Hangar, ONGC Nagar, Mehsana Skynex Aero Pvt. Ltd. 5. Skynex Hangar, ONGC Nagar, Mehsana Dunes Aviation Academy (A 6. GCF Hangar, Bhavnagar Airport, Unit of Ganpat Care Bhavnagar Foundation). The Gujarat Flying Club 7. Civil Aerodrome, Harni Road, Vadodara (currently non- operational) 8. Amreli Airstrip, Amreli Vision Flying Training Institute 9. VFTI Hangar, Amreli Airport, Chital Road, Amreli Haryana FSTC Flying School Pvt. Ltd., 10. Chaudhary Bansi Lal Airport, SH-16A Village Gujrani, Bhiwani 11. Narnaul Airstrip, Haryana Haryana Institute of Civil 12. Civil Aerodrome, Kunjpura Road, Aviation Karnal 13. Civil Aerodrome, Hisar (currently non- operational) 14. Civil Aerodrome , Pinjore Jharkhand Alchemist Aviation Pvt. Ltd., 15. Sonari Aerodrome, Jamshedpur Jharkhand Flying Institute 16. Jharkhand Flying Institute Dumka Airport, Dumka, Santhal Pargana Dumka Karnataka Asia Pacific Flight Training 17. Kalaburagi Airport, Gulbarga Academy Ltd. Aviation Connectivity and 18. Old Technical Block, Ground Floor Infrastructure Developers and 1st Floor (Old MET Office), Old Pvt. Ltd. Technical Block, Dharwad Govt. Flying Training School 19. Jakkur Aerodrome, Bangalore (currently non-operational/validity of approval lapsed) Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran 20. Kalaburagi Airport, Gulbarga Akademi Orient Flight School 21. Mysore Airport, Mandakally post, Mysore Redbird Flight Training 22..Kalaburagi Airport, Karnataka Academy Pvt. Ltd.23.Belagavi Airport, Belagavi Kerala Rajiv Gandhi Academy for 24. International Aviation Tech. Airport,Thiruvananthapuram Madhya Chimes Aviation 25. Dhana Aerodrome, Sagar Pradesh 26. Neemuch Airstrip, Jaysingpura, Neemuch Falcon Aviation Academy 27. Rewa Airfield, Rewa (currently non- operational) Indian Flying Academy (A 28. Hanger no.2, Khajuraho Airport, unit of Shaurya Flight Sim Khajuraho Pvt. Ltd.) Jet Serve Aviation Pvt. Ltd. 29. Flyola Aviation Academy, Terminal Road, Khajuraho Airport, Khajuraho Madhya Pradesh Flying Club 30. Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport, Civil Aerodrome, Bijasan Road, Indore 31. Raja Bhoj Airport, Bairagarh, Bhopal- Redbird Flight Training 32. Suktara Airport, Seoni Academy Pvt. Ltd. Sha- Shib Flying Academy 33. Guna Airport Maharashtra Academy of Carver Aviation 34. Plot No. P-50,MIDC Ind. Area, Near Baramati Airport, Baramati Ambitions Flying Club Pvt Ltd. 35. Karad Airport, Karad –Patan Road, Karad Satara Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran 36. Airport Authority of India, Birsi Airport, Akademi P.O.P; Paraswada, Gondia Jet Serve Aviation Pvt. Ltd. 37. Flyola Aviation Academy, Jalgaon Airport,Jalgaon Nagpur Flying Club 38. Hangar No. 1, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Intl. Airport, Sonegaon Aerodrome, Nagpur, (currently non- operational) 39. Moorwa airstrip, Chandrapur National Flying Training 40. Birsi Airport, Paraswada, Gondia, Institute, Pvt. Ltd Redbird Flight Training 41. Baramati Airport, Baramati,, Academy Pvt. Ltd. SKVM’s Flying Academy of 42. Shirpur Airstrip, Dist. Dhule Aviation Skynex Aero Pvt. Ltd. 43. Jalgaon Airport, Jalgaon The Bombay Flying Club 44. Juhu Airport, Mumbai 45. Dhule Airstrip, Mumbai Orissa Govt. Aviation Training 46. Birasal Airstrip, Birasal, Dhenkanal Institute 47. Biju Pattanaik International Airport, Bhubaneshwar Punjab Patiala Aviation Club 48. Hanger -1, Civil Aerodrome, Sangrur Road, Patiala 49. Sri Guru Ram Das Jee, International Airport Amritsar Rajasthan Avyanna Aviation Academy 50. Site-2, Kishangarh Airport, Ajmer,Banasthali Vidyapith 51. Banasthali Univ., Banasthali, Gliding Flying Club, Dist.Tonk (currently non- operational) Dunes Aviation 52. GCF Hangar, Hamirgarh Airstrip, Academy (A unit of Bhilwara, Ganpat Care Foundation) Tamil Nadu Ekvi Air Training 53. Site B, Salem Airport, Organisation Pvt. Ltd. Kamalapuram, Omalur Taluk, Dist - Salem Telangana Asia Pacific Flight Training 54. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Academy Ltd Shamshabad, Hyderabad 500409. (currently non-operational) Flytech Aviation Academy 55. Nadergul Aerodrome, Hyderabad Wings Aviation Pct. Ltd. 56. Begumpet Airport Hyderabad Telangana State Aviation 57. Begumpet Airport Hyderabad Academy Uttar Pradesh Chetak Aviation Academy 58. MS- 10 NH-91, Dhanipur Airstrip, Post Panethi, Aligarh- 202001 Falcon Aviation Academy 59. Civil Airport, Ayodhya (currently non- operational) Garg Aviation Ltd. 60. Hanger No.3, Civil Aerodrome, Cantt. Kanpur-208004 Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran 61.Fursatganj Airfield, Raebareilly Akademy Pioneer Flying Club, Pvt. Ltd 62. MS-10, NH-91, Dhanipur Airport, Post Panethi, Aligarh Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation *****