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Journalism of Courage
The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) today increased the maximum age of professional pilots to 61 years from the previous 60.
The move by the DGCA, which issued a notification to this effect yesterday, comes against the backdrop of a sudden expansion of the aviation market and shortage of trained pilots in the country following liberalisation of the civil aviation sector.
The DGCA notification amended the earlier stipulation in the aircraft rules, 1937, which put the maximum age limit at 60.
As per DGCA guidelines, the pilot, in order to act as pilot-in-command or co-pilot an aircraft of a scheduled or non-scheduled airline, should also have an accident-free record and a clean medical record, besides undergoing training and medical assessment on a regular basis.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had recently said the emergence of several new airline companies and the expansion of the existing ones in the Indian market had led to severe shortage of trained pilots.
He had said that besides enhancing the maximum age limit of pilots, the Civil Aviation Ministry was also looking at upgrading the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udaan Academy (IGRUA) and reworking its course pattern to reduce the time to complete pilot training to enable a higher turnout.
The minister also hinted at amending the rules for granting the pilot licence, presently after 250 hours of flying while the international standard is 200 hours.
