India tightens experience norms for overseas pilots

New Delhi: India has tightened the rules for expatriate pilots seeking jobs in the country’s booming aviation sector in the wake of the plane crash in Mangalore that killed 158.
Serbian-born Zlatko Glusica was flying the Air India Express aircraft that crashed on 22 May in India’s worst air disaster in a decade.
From 1 December, foreign pilots will need at least 4,000 hours of experience to fly Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 planes, director general of civil aviation Nazim Zaidi said in a 15 November order. To fly long-haul Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 aircraft, they will now require at least 5,000 hours of flying experience.
They currently need to have flown just 2,000 hours with 100 hours on that type of aircraft, compared with 2,500 hours for Indian pilots with 1,000 hours on that type of aircraft.
Mohan Ranganathan, a Chennai-based safety expert who is part of the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council established by the government after the Mangalore crash, welcomed the move.
Overseas pilots who are already flying in India, typically on one-year renewable contracts, will have to conform to the new norms when these come up for renewal.
India faces a shortage of airline pilots in the face of a rapid growth in civil aviation. There are around 670 foreign pilots working in India, and domestic firms estimate the country will need at least 2,500 pilots, including 1,200 from overseas, in the next five years, as the sector continues to register an annual growth of about 15%.
The civil aviation regulator has also introduced more stringent local medical checks that so far have been applicable only to Indian pilots.
Zlatko, who flew the Air India Express plane from Dubai, is alleged to have slept for half the duration of the 3 hour 45 minute flight, said an official familiar with the recently concluded court of inquiry, requesting anonymity.
Foreign flight crew members will now also have to show evidence that they have not been involved in any accidents for the past five years. If they are away from the country for more than 90 days, they will have to seek fresh security clearances, the regulator said.
19/11/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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Categories: Foreign Nov 2010, Indian Aviation- In General Nov 2010