Indian Women Pilots Dominate The World Skies

Dec 09,2021

In a recent tweet, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri claimed that India had the most number of female pilots in the world. According to him, Indian airlines employ about 12.4 percent female pilots, which is more than the global average of 5 percent. "Women power soars high! 210 women pilots including 103 captains are a part of the Air India family. AAI is efficiently women-ed by 507 women Air Traffic Controllers," he says in another tweet.

Women pilots are more than twice in number in India as they are in most Western countries, including the United States and Australia. According to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, women account for less than 5% of pilots worldwide. There are 17,726 pilots registered in India, with 2,764 of them being women.

While reports have been rampant about the very real gender discrimination in the aviation industry, this is a heartening statistic. Rajya Sabha's Minister of State for Civil Aviation (Gen. (Dr.) VK Singh (Retd) has responded with a formal letter. “Globally, according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, around 5% of pilots are women. In India, the share of women pilots is significantly higher - over 15%. As per the information available with the e-governance of civil aviation, out of the 17,726 registered pilots in India, the number of women pilots is 2,764,” he says in a press statement.

He also stated that the Indian chapter of Aviation International along with the ministry has taken key initiatives such as issuing award letters for nine new Flying Training Organizations (FTO) at five airport authorities of India with rationalized land charges, digitization of approval process at the regulator DGCA and greater empowerment of flying instructors, which will help in increasing female participation in the civil aviation. These measures would increase the flying hours at the FTOs and, eventually, the number of Pilot Licenses issued annually. He was confident that such key measures will benefit pilot aspirants, especially women.

"I am quite proud of the fact that India has one of the highest female pilot percentages in the world. And Indian aviation has embraced it wholeheartedly. Every time we run a flight to the United States or Europe, people at the airport exclaim, "Wow" seeing us. I'm proud to be a part of a company that values talent regardless of gender. Air India has a large number of female pilots, and they are taken aback when they see two female senior captains flying alongside two junior first officers. Being a woman has never made me feel discriminated against. I put in a lot of effort and have received a lot of praise and admiration for it. It's no surprise that one of our instructors on 777 right now is a senior lady," says Air India's Captain Swati Raval.