Converting foreign pilot licences to Indian made easy

New Delhi: With pilot shortage in India getting acute and airlines unable to fully utilise the planes they have or deferring acquisition, the government has simplified the process of converting professional pilot’s licence issued abroad to an Indian one.
As soon as a foreign licence holder clears the requisite tests prescribed by the DGCA, he will submit all papers and conversion fees with the directorate.
“The applicant will have to be called for interview in three days of submission of all papers. We have basically gone like the US visa system. If the applicant clears the interview, he or she would be told that his case has been cleared. The Indian CPL will reach him within a week by courier,” said a senior official.
If a person’s licence has not been cleared for conversion, he would be informed at the interview time itself. The applicant would be given a letter stating why he or she wasn’t found satisfactory and how a reapplication can be made.
28/11/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India