India is at the cusp of an aviation boom. But availability of trained pilots is still a key issue confronting the sector. Khushbeg Jattana, General Manager for Simaero India, articulates the need for training pilots in India, in order to save foreign currency and costs, prevent inordinate delays and avoid the inconvenience faced by airlines training pilots abroad. The aviation sector insider also insists that by investing in world class simulators, India can boost efficiency and become a regional pilot training hub too.
India’s aviation sector is booming and everyone wants a piece of the sky. Airlines are placing record-breaking aircraft orders, new regional airlines are being launched, airports are expanding at a frantic pace and there’s an unmistakable optimism in the air. But here’s the catch. Amid this rapid expansion of the aviation sector, for India’s civil aviation story to truly soar into the stratosphere, the country needs many more trained pilots.
And therein lies the problem. We need pilots. Lots of them. But pilots don’t just materialise out of thin air. They need rigorous training and that training doesn’t just happen in conventional classrooms. It happens in state-of-the-art flight simulator facilities. That’s where India has been traditionally lagging behind, playing catch-up for far too long.
For decades, airlines in India have been sending their pilots abroad, to destinations in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, or Europe—for initial type rating, left seat/captain upgrades and recurrent simulator training. There was no other way. That’s because as of now, these are the countries where extensive and up-to-date pilot training facilities are available and also because many of the domestically available simulators are operating to capacity. At present, there are a total of 33 flight simulators operational in India, covering the major aircraft types available in the Indian aviation market. For a country touted to be poised as the third-largest aviation market in the world, the lack of adequate facilities for pilot training is an Achilles heel that needs addressing.
Given that India is one of the largest markets for the A320 fleet and considering the rapid growth in domestic aviation, there is a shortfall of at least four to five additional simulators to meet current and near-future training demands.
Let’s talk numbers. Training a pilot overseas isn’t just about the simulator costs. There are travel expenses, visa fees, accommodation, daily allowances and of course, the lost flying hours while the pilot is away, training in another country.
On average, here’s how much an airline shells out per pilot for a command upgrade course abroad: $300 per hour for simulator training for four hours a day over 11 days, which totals $13,200. Then there’s the daily allowance for both the pilot and instructor, which adds up to $4,500. Accommodation costs $120 per night for 15 nights for two people, summing up to $3,600. Visa fees account for another $180. That’s roughly $21,480 per pilot or around ₹18.5 lakh if we assume ₹86 per dollar. Multiply this by an airline training 300 pilots annually and that’s ₹55 crore going straight out of the country. And this is just for training pilots from just one airline stable. Imagine the collective spend of India’s entire aviation sector if we are to factor in the training of pilots across aviation companies. Plus, add in currency fluctuations and a four percent depreciation of the rupee means airlines are suddenly paying an extra ₹2.2 crore per year. And if you’re running an airline, like in every other business, every rupee counts.
So why don’t we just build our own simulator training infrastructure? Well, that’s exactly what’s happening.
Training of pilots in India isn’t just a matter of convenience. Airlines need reliable, flexible access to training. If a pilot needs an urgent refresher, they shouldn’t have to wait for the next available slot in Dubai or Singapore or another foreign country. With in-country simulators, airlines can ensure pilots are trained on their schedule, not dependent on the schedules of simulator facilities based abroad.
According to data from the Civil Aviation Authority, over 1,500+ Commercial Pilot Licences (CPL) are issued to Indian pilots each year and this number continues to grow annually. However, with the limited simulator capacity in India, only about 25 per cent of the training requirements for newly licensed pilots can currently be fulfilled domestically. As a result, a significant portion of Indian pilots, approximately 75 per cent, are compelled to seek simulator training abroad.
India skies have witnessed an uptick in regional airlines with the union aviation ministry’s thrust on improving regional connectivity across underserved and unserved regions. Airlines such as FLY91, Air Kerala and Shankh Air have taken to the skies in the last year itself, joining regional airlines like Star Air and Alliance Air. In an effort to be more efficient both financially and operationally, regional airlines are far more likely to partner with pilot training and simulator training organisations within India in the absence of in-house pilot training facilities.
The benefits of training locally go beyond the act of saving money. Every day a pilot spends abroad for training is a day they aren’t flying revenue-generating flights. Overseas training means losing at least four duty days per pilot, which translates to roughly ₹3.2 lakh in lost flying time per pilot. Multiply that by 300 pilots and that’s another ₹9.6 crore in lost revenue per year, just because of the elaborate logistics involved in training pilots abroad. Training within India also means courses align seamlessly with Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) requirements, eliminating time wasted in conversions and regulatory hurdles. Additionally, investing in our own training infrastructure within the country creates high-value employment for instructors, engineers, technicians and simulator maintenance professionals.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision emphasises self-sufficiency and aviation should be no exception. Why stop at training only Indian pilots? With the right investment, India can become a regional hub for pilot training, serving South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. We have the talent, location and momentum. If the UAE can build an economy around aviation training, there’s no reason India can’t follow suit.
The transition won’t happen overnight. However, the urgency is clear. Over 100 aircraft are currently grounded due to supply chain issues. Once resolved, pilot demand will surge, straining training capacity. Without local simulators, airlines will face costly, logistically complex overseas training—an avoidable setback for a booming industry.
But the momentum is building as of today. As simulator training infrastructure scales up in India, airlines will no longer have to deal with the hassle of sending pilots abroad. The cost savings, efficiency gains and strategic advantages are simply too significant to ignore.
For an industry that thrives on precision and planning, one thing is clear: building simulator training infrastructure within India isn’t just another good idea. It’s a necessity for the future of Indian aviation, a building block for the booming sector’s future.
