Proportion of Indian Female Pilots Twice that of Most Western Countries

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 7 December 2021

There are 17,726 registered pilots in India, with 2,764 of them being women.

According to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, women make up about 5% of pilots worldwide. Women pilots account for nearly 15% of all pilots in India, according to VK Singh, Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Female pilots outnumber male pilots in India by a factor of two, compared to the majority of Western countries, including the United States and Australia.

The Indian Commercial Pilots' Association, on the other hand, has recently accused the government's Air India of intentionally discriminating against female pilots. According to a source, the Upgradation List deleted or misspelt the names of a few female pilots who had maternity absences, resulting in a denial of appropriate service benefits such as Leave Travel Concession (LTC) and a negative impact on their seniority.

Meanwhile, the minister stated that the Women in Aviation International (WAI) - India Chapter, in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, industry, and leading women aviation professionals, conducts numerous awareness programmes across the country, with a special focus on young schoolgirls, particularly from low-income families.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and its affiliated organisations, according to a press release, have taken a number of steps to strengthen pilot training in the country. Award letters for nine new Flying Training Organizations (FTO) at five Airports Authority of India airports (Belagavi, Jalgaon, Kalaburagi, Khajuraho, and Lilabari) with rationalised land charges, digitization of approval processes at the regulator DGCA, and increased empowerment of Flying Instructors are among them.

These actions are anticipated to increase the number of hours flown at FTOs and the number of Commercial Pilot Licenses given each year. All aspiring pilots, including women pilots, will profit from this.