Domestic airlines have 298 foreign pilots, asked to reduce the number: Govt

Domestic airlinesa have employed 298 foreign pilots and the carriers have been advised to reduce their dependence on overseas pilots, according to the government.

The Civil Aviation Ministry today informed the Lok Sabha that the existing provision for allowing foreign pilots to fly India-registered aircraft on the basis of Foreign Aircrew Temporary Authorisation (FATA) is up to December 31, 2020.

The total number of foreign pilots employed by various domestic airlines is 298, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said in a written reply.

"Keeping in view the projected requirements of 1,043 aircraft to be inducted by schedule airlines over a period of next eight years and air crew/ aircraft utilisation, there is a projected requirement of approximately 12,516 pilots in the country by 2025," he said.

The minister said all domestic airlines have been advised to develop their in-house strength to reduce the dependency on foreign pilots.

R-Day closure: 100 flights to be cancelled daily between Jan 18-26 in Delhi

At least 100 domestic flights a day are expected to be canceled between January 18 and 26 from 10:30 am to 12:15 pm as part of annual Republic Day closure, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said.

DIAL said it in a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) on Thursday. The authority which operates Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) said it has sought to minimize the inconvenience to the passengers. Approximately 1,000 flights are likely to be affected over a period of nine days This shutdown will also affect around 15,000 passengers daily.

This is for the first time that domestic airlines have been ordered to cancel their flights as till last year they were asked to reschedule their operations. International flights can reschedule their flights during the nine-day period this year.

On an average, Delhi airport handled 1,350 flights every day in 2017. According to officials, while the number of flight handled by the Delhi airport has been going up by 10-15 per cent every year, and the number of passengers by 20 per cent, there has been no corresponding rise in the airspace and terminal capacity, Hindustan Times said in a report.

According to domestic airlines, the short notice to cancel the flights would anger the passengers and they will have to face the brunt even when it is not their fault. Until last year they only had to reschedule their flight timings which was manageable as passengers could fly, said a senior executive on the condition of anonymity, Economic Times reported
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