15% of pilots in India are women: Govt

New Delhi: One in every seven pilots employed in six major Indian airlines is a woman with IndiGo topping the list, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has informed Parliament.

These domestic airlines together have employed 11,775 pilots, including 236 foreign nationals. India has a total of 26,539 licensed pilots.

While 10,008 male pilots are Indians, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said, 1,767 are Indian women pilots.

“Fifteen percent of pilots in the country are women,” he said. Reports suggested that the global average of women pilots is 5 per cent.

According to statistics placed by Mohol in Lok Sabha last Thursday, IndiGo had the highest number of 5,714 pilots – 4,383 Indian male pilots, 791 Indian women pilots and 34 foreign pilots.

While IndiGo has the highest number of women pilots, Alliance Air – whose 25 pilots out of 144 are women – has the highest proportion of women pilots at 17.36 per cent. IndiGo’s proportion is 15.28 per cent.

Air India has 15.62 per cent women pilots – 541 out of 3462 – while SpiceJet has 16.39 per cent – 61 out of 372 – and Air India Express 12.96 per cent, the lowest – 119 out of 1,774. SNV Aviation has 14.01 per cent women pilots –119 out of 849.

Air India has 34 foreign pilots, Alliance Air 20 and Air India Express 144 while SpiceJet and SNV Aviation have not employed any foreign pilots.

Mohol said that India’s aviation industry is growing at a fast pace and requires a substantial number of pilots in the next five years.

While recruitment is beyond the purview of the Ministry, he said it has provided an enabling environment for increase of capacity for training of commercial pilots.

He said the Ministry and Airports Authority of India have brought out a liberalised Flying Training Organisation (FTO) policy through which the concept of airport loyalty (revenue share payment by FTOs to AAI) has been abolished and land rentals have been significantly rationalised.

“After a competitive bidding process in two phases in 2021 and 2022…AAI awarded 15 FTO slots at 10 airports. Of these, 11 FTO slots are operational,” he said.