22% increase in commercial pilot licenses issued to women in 2023: DGCA

New Delhi: The aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday said that it issued a decade-high 1622 commercial pilot licenses (CPLs) in 2023, among which 18.12% are women pilots, a growth of 22.5% as compared to 2022.
“In a significant stride forward, the aviation regulator DGCA has achieved an unprecedented milestone by issuing a decade-high 1,622 commercial pilot licenses in the year 2023. Among these, 18.12% are women pilots with a remarkable upswing of 22.5% as compared to the year 2022,” a statement issued by the DGCA read.
This comes at a time when the country’s civil aviation sector is recovering at a fast pace after the Covid-19 pandemic, and major air operators like Air India and IndiGo have placed huge aircraft orders for commercial operations.
“The record issue of total CPLs for 2023 has surpassed the previous milestone of 1165 licenses issued in the year 2022, witnessing a 39.22 % increase,” the DGCA stated.
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“ The surge in license issuances reflects..rigorous standards upheld by the regulator to ensure safety, compliance, and increased operational demands of the aviation sector,” the DGCA said.
The civil aviation ministry had recently amended the Aircraft Rules, 1937, under which it extended the validity of CPL from five to 10 years. It stated, “This change is expected to reduce administrative burden on pilots and aviation authorities like DGCA, promoting a more streamlined and efficient licensing process.”
Moreover, the DGCA said that it has also approved a new helicopter flying training organisation to cater to small business.
“..to cater to the long time demand of small business and helicopter operators, the regulator has granted approval for a new helicopter Flying Training Organisation (FTO) to enable aspirants to undertake training and acquire commercial licenses for helicopters,” it said.
With this, it is expected that the helicopter industry, which is largely engaged in regional connectivity services (RCS), pilgrimage, and air-ambulance services, will shore up in terms of crew strength by receiving trained pilots from an additional pool other than ex-military pilots, the DGCA stated.