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Pilot licensing may soon be outsourced on the lines of the visa service in the US.
The Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is considering the proposal and a new system is likely to be in place by December.
“To check complaints such as missing papers, delays and to curb touts, we are considering outsourcing the work to a professional agency. There will be no financial burden on the Government, as the candidate may be asked to pay a nominal fee,” a senior DGCA official told Business Line .
However, the examination part for the pilot's licence will remain with the DGCA, the official added.
The idea of a new system came after the fake pilot licence episode, which forced DGCA to verify licences. This resulted in identifying 16 cases where licences were cancelled. Besides this, three DGCA officials were also arrested.
Explaining the new system, the official said that after passing the examination, the candidate will be required to go to the authorised agency, submit the marksheet, log book, and other required documents. The authorised agency will then complete the back-end process.
After this, the application will reach DGCA for final validation. If everything is in order, the DGCA will issue the licence. Everything will be done in a time-bound manner, the official added.
Online exam
Also, DGCA plans to start online examinations for commercial pilot licences by October-November. “Last week, we conducted online examination for ATPL. Apart from some glitches, it went off well,” said the official.
At present, DGCA has one wing for licences and another for examination. After initial training and logging minimum 200 hours of flying with a recognised flying club, one is required to appear for an examination. A pass marksheet along with other documents help the candidate get a commercial pilot licence (CPL).
A CPL holder can join any airline and fly as a co-pilot. After 1,500 hours of flying, the person can apply for Air Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL), which will help him to become an aircraft commander.
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