Women Pilots On The Rise In India: 294 Commercial Pilot Licenses Issued For Women In 2023

There is a significant upswing in the enrollment of women pilots in India, the Rajya Sabha was informed.

In the year 2023, the total number of commercial pilot licenses (CPL) issued was 1622 of which 294 CPLs were issued to women, constituting 18 per cent of total CPLs issued.

There is an increase of 22 per cent in the number of CPLs issued to women in the year 2023 (294 CPLs) as compared to the year 2022 (240 CPLs).

At present, the total number of women pilots employed with various Indian scheduled and non-scheduled operators is about at 14 per cent of the total flight crew strength.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and its associated organisations have taken steps to increase the number of pilots in the country, both women and men.

These include issuing award letters by the Airports Authority of India for nine new flying training organisations (FTO) at five airports, namely Belagavi, Jalgaon, Kalaburagi, Khajuraho, and Lilabari in the first phase and six more FTOs at five airports in the second phase, namely Bhavnagar, Hubballi, Kadapa, Kishangarh and Salem.

In addition, the Women in Aviation International (WAI) - India Chapter conducts many awareness programmes across the country in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, industry, and leading women aviation professionals, with a special focus on young schoolgirls, especially from low-income families.