Due to the shortage of staff in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aviation regulator is taking at least a couple of months to issue licences to trained pilots. According to the sources, DGCA is grappling with the shortage of staff at key positions.
Upon completing their training, individuals must acquire a Commercial Pilot License (CPL) to become eligible for piloting commercial flights. According to sources within the civil aviation ministry, pilots currently face a waiting period of several months to obtain their licenses, and this waiting time is expected to increase in the coming months.
The Directorate of Training and Licensing (DTL), which falls under the Operations Department responsible for licensing, has a total of 129 authorized positions for assistant directors. Regrettably, a significant portion, specifically 92 positions, or nearly 72 percent of the total allocation, remain vacant, as revealed by one of the sources.
DGCA only sanctioned 72 assistant director positions
Until July 2022, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had only 72 sanctioned assistant director positions. In August 2022, the ministry created an additional 57 positions, increasing the authorized strength to 129. However, the DGCA has not yet initiated any efforts to fill these newly created positions. Furthermore, 35 of the original 72 vacant positions, resulting from retirements or employee promotions, still remain unfilled, as reported by the source.
When contacted, DGCA Director General Vikram Dev Dutt did not provide any comments on the matter. However, a senior official, speaking anonymously, cited the tedious and time-consuming nature of the hiring process as the primary reason for the delay in filling these crucial posts.
According to DGCA’s own ‘Standard of Service,’ a CPL should be issued within three days after completing due processes. Nonetheless, the source mentioned that while the regulator has advertised for filling entry-level positions in airworthiness, legal, and air safety through the Union Public Service Commission (PSC), no such advertisement has been issued for the entry-level positions in the operations cadre responsible for licensing processes.
In addition to these issues, institutes offering drone flying training must obtain licenses from the DGCA, with several of these applications awaiting approval for an extended period. Similarly, companies selling drones to trained pilots are required to obtain a Unique Identification Number (UIN) from the DGCA for each drone, and trained drone pilots also need licenses from the DGCA to operate drones.
Aviation experts express concerns over delays in licensing pilots
Aviation experts have expressed concerns that the delays in licensing pilots may worsen as the operations department under DTL is undergoing a restructuring process, causing delays as files are shuffled among the DGCA, the ministry, and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
Additionally, higher positions, such as Deputy Director Generals (DDGs), are experiencing severe shortages. Out of a total of 18 DDG positions at DGCA, 9 are currently vacant, with 7 of these positions having been created in August 2022. This lack of recruitment rules has hindered the promotion of directors from various departments, creating a bottleneck in the career progression of group A officers in DGCA, which could significantly impact the aviation industry.
Moreover, key positions within the operations department, including Deputy Director General (DDG), Director Operations, and Deputy Director Operations, have remained vacant for over a year, leading to delays in various services. The sources also claim that processes related to Air Traffic Controllers Licensing and Aerodrome Licensing are progressing slowly due to a shortage of officials.