Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

15 Per Cent of Indian Pilots Are Women, Three Times the Global Average: Gen. V. K. Singh

December 7, 2021
IAF women pilot
Image used for representation purpose only. Picture Credit - Flickr

Out of 17,726 registered pilots in India, 2,764 pilots are women, informed Minister of State for Civil Aviation General (Dr) VK Singh (Retd) the Parliament. This is still higher than the global average. In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State General VK Singh cited data from the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, which noted that globally only around 5 per cent of pilots are women. In India, the share of women pilots is significantly higher, at over 15 per cent, he added.

The Women in Aviation International (WAI) – India Chapter conducts many awareness programmes across the country in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, industry and leading women aviation professionals, with a special focus on young schoolgirls, especially from low-income families.

Minister of State General VK Singh said that the Civil Aviation Ministry had taken steps to enhance the training of pilots. These steps include the issuance of award letters for nine new Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) at five airports of the Airports Authority of India (Belagavi, Jalgaon, Kalaburagi, Khajuraho and Lilabari) and digitisation of approval processes at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. He outlined that the steps could enhance flying hours at FTOs and the number of Commercial Pilot Licenses issued per annum. These steps will also benefit all aspiring pilots, including women pilots.