With the boom in aviation sector and more airlines starting up their operations, instructors are leaving flying clubs in Punjab to avail fat pay-packets being offered by various airlines.
To retain the skilled instructors and engineers is becoming an uphill task for the department of civil aviation of Punjab. Interestingly, to stem the instructors, the department also started to give incentives with the salary if instructors work for extra hours. There are four flying clubs at Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar. Excluding Patiala flying club, other three are running in the red and are at the verge of closer. Flying is not taking place in these three clubs.
?Despite having the required infrastructure we are not able to run flying clubs as there is acute shortage of instructors and engineers?. said Capt Abhay Chandra, adviser civil aviation, Punjab.