New Delhi: India is gradually going away from the current system and considering rebuilding pilot training, where a student first has to earn a commercial pilot license (CPL) and then rating a separate rating for a specific aircraft, for a integrated “Multi-Cruti Pilot License” (MPL) system. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation will hold a meeting with stakeholders on this issue on Wednesday. If approved, both systems will come into co-existence, and operators will have the flexibility to choose what is best to meet their needs of safety and operational efficiency.This is the second major change that India is contemplating in this region, after proposing to create students with class 12 art and commerce streams, eligible to pursue CPL – an area reserved for science students with physics and mathematics in mid -12th to 12th. As globally the fastest growing aviation market, Govt is clearly eager to take steps to meet the Indian carrier requirement for pilots in the coming years.Currently, cadet pilots have to first CPL, in which training aircraft for 200 hours, among other things. They then require a simulator-based type rating for specific aircraft such as Airbus A320 or Boeing 737.The MPL will need them to fly a small training aircraft for about 70 hours. They will then do simulator training for 140 to 160 hours. Subsequently, the airlines will include them as trainees on that type of aircraft. Approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization, MPL is adopted globally by more than 50 airlines, such as Lufthansa, Etihad, Fliedubai and Singapore Airlines.“We will evaluate both systems and consider what is best in terms of ensuring high training standards and meeting airline requirements. The MPL was also considered by us in the past. A request has been made to consider this again and this is being done, “Senior government officials said. If approved, MPP will be gradually introduced for more than 2-3 years and CPL will be present for non-airline students.An integrated program, the MPL emphasizes “prominent competencies that are required to operate modern commercial aircraft safely. It can suit specific aircraft types and operating philosophy of airlines that will ensure a stable stream of pilots”, a senior pilot said.“The MPL should have been adopted many years ago to meet India’s growing aviation needs … MPL better aligns with modern airline operating realities compared to the current CPL system, which is old for a rapidly developed aviation sector. India needs more than 2,000 new pilots annually in the next decade,” another captain said.Opposing the MPL, a senior captain said: “Our regulatory system constantly lacks the standards of the MPL program adequately to maintain and implement the strength to implement.”
