The Ministry of Civil Aviation informed the Parliament on Monday that India has more women pilots than the global average.
Globally, according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, around 5 percent of pilots are women. In India, the share of women pilots is significantly higher – at over 15 percent, Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation General (Retired) V K Singh informed.
In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, he said, India has a total of 17,726 registered pilots out of which the number of women pilots is 2,764.
He further informed that the Ministry of Civil Aviation and its associated organizations have taken a number of steps to promote the training of pilots in the country. These include issuing award letters for nine new Flying Training Organisations (FTO) at five airports authority of India (Belagavi, Jalgaon, Kalaburagi, Khajuraho, and Lilabari) with rationalized land charges, etc., digitization of approval processes at the regulator DGCA and greater empowerment of Flying Instructors, etc.
“These measures are likely to enhance the flying hours at FTOs and the number of Commercial Pilot Licenses issued per annum. These will benefit all aspiring pilots, including women pilots,” he said.
