Tests for expat pilots to be made tougher

New Delhi: Worried at the swelling ranks of young Indian students sitting idle after spending several lakhs on becoming commercial pilots, the government has decided to get tough with airlines on the issue of foreign pilots.
While it had earlier asked airlines to send back expats by end 2010, now hiring of foreigners is being made difficult.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is in the process of making the tests on knowledge of Indian regulations, which expats have to clear before being allowed to fly, tougher.
At present, there’s only one general paper that is going to be branched out so that the expat is tested on the basis of his knowledge of the type of airline he or she has to join here.
DGCA chief Nasim Zaidi has set up a panel to work out different exam papers for schedule and non-schedule airlines and helicopters so that each pilot is tested in detail on the laws of that specific sector. In short, the examination process is being made rigorous so that Indian airlines find it tougher to get expat pilots and instead focus on Indian ones.
Indian carriers, that currently employ 1,000-odd expat pilots, have told DGCA that a majority of expats would be sent back by 2010. But the apprehension that airlines may again cite shortage of trained Indian commanders to retain them has forced aviation ministry to mount a strict vigil.
22/01/09 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India