India has over 25,000 active pilots: Government
What's the story
The Indian government has revealed that the country has a total of 25,001 active pilots. This includes 10,261 ATPL (Airlines Transport License) holders. The information was shared by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. The data specifically pertains to pilots below the age of 65 years with various licenses issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
License distribution
Breakdown of the total number of pilots
The government data breaks down the active pilots into different categories. There are 10,051 ATPL (airplane) and 210 ATPL (helicopter) holders. The CPL (Aeroplane only) and CPL (helicopters only) holders number at 12,480 and 777, respectively. Additionally, there are also a few Private Pilots License (PPL) holders - 1,477 for airplanes and six for helicopters operations.
Information
No data on unemployment status of pilots
Mohl also clarified that the DGCA does not keep track of the unemployment status of pilots holding Commercial Pilot License (CPL) or Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL). This means there's no official record on how many licensed pilots are currently without a job in India.