Foreign pilots to be phased out by 2013

Foreign pilots , who account for around 20 per cent of pilots employed by Indian air carriers, are expected to be phased out by 2013, according to a top aviation official.

"We hope by 2013, India can do without foreign pilots," Director General of Civil Aviation EK Bharat Bhushan said on Monday.

Bhushan said more and more youth are entering the aviation field and backed up by many flying schools there is a good scope to have only Indian flying crew.

The number of expat pilots have started going down in the past few years due to pressure from Indian pilots' bodies on DGCA to force airlines to phase them out. Foreign pilots are also paid higher salaries.

According to the DGCA, the Indian civil aviation regulatory authority, there were 686 foreign pilots with airlines in India in 2009. As of March 2011, the number was around 350. There are about 1,300 Indian pilots.

On the fake pilot license issue, Bhushan said the ministry had taken the matter seriously and had arrested 16 persons and three DGCA employees in related cases.

To make the pilot exams more transparent, DGCA was mulling conducting online tests. Its syllabus and a detailed question bank would be prepared and published on DGCA website soon.