India to issue 1,331 commercial pilot licenses in first half; 41% trained abroad

India issued 1,331 commercial pilot licenses in the first six months of 2026, with more than four out of every 10 newly licensed pilots trained overseas, the government told Parliament on Monday.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had issued licenses to 791 cadets trained in Indian Flying Training Organizations (FTOs) and 540 cadets trained in foreign FTOs as on June 30. This means that approximately 41 percent of licensed commercial pilots received their new training abroad.

Growing demand for pilots

The figures come amid growing demand for pilots as Indian airlines continue to expand their fleets and networks. DGCA issued 1,652 commercial pilot licenses in 2025, 1,347 in 2024, 1,622 in 2023 and 1,165 in 2022, indicating continued growth in pilot certification.

Mohol said that India currently has 41 DGCA approved flying training organizations operating at 63 bases with a fleet of over 400 training aircraft.

As per DGCA norms, flying training organizations have to maintain an aircraft-instructor-student ratio of 1:1:10, which gives them the capacity to train around 3,500 students at any given time.

Measures taken to strengthen the pilot training ecosystem

The minister said the government has taken several measures to strengthen the pilot training ecosystem in the country, including streamlining the approval process and oversight of FTOs and revising training regulations to improve capacity and efficiency.

According to a Reuters report, India is facing a pilot shortage, with its largest airline, IndiGo, having just 7.6 pilots per narrow-body aircraft. IndiGo canceled thousands of flights in December after it failed to adequately plan for new rules limiting pilot hours, leaving it short of pilots.