Federation of Indian Pilots Seeks Formal Role in Aviation Safety and Training Policy

India – The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has asked India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation to recognise it as a permanent stakeholder in aviation policy, safety regulation and investigations involving the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).

• FIP’s membership database listed 5,479 members as of August 21, 2026, covering pilots from airline, corporate, helicopter, general aviation and former military backgrounds.
• In an August 24 letter to Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, FIP requested representation on relevant Ministry, DGCA and AAIB committees and task forces, as well as a formal mechanism for consultation on draft regulations and Civil Aviation Requirements.
• Areas identified by FIP for pilot participation include pilot training and competency standards, Flight and Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), Fatigue Risk Management Systems (FRMS), licensing, human factors, Safety Management Systems, occurrence reporting, runway safety, psychoactive substance testing, accident investigation and pilot recruitment and retention.
• FIP said it had received assurances during interactions with the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture and the Public Accounts Committee in December 2025 that it would be consulted on aviation safety and policy matters, but said a structured mechanism had not yet been established.
• The request comes while DGCA continues to oversee an expanding flight-training sector. AFM previously reported that India had 41 approved Flying Training Organisations across 63 flying bases as of April 2026, with around 3,500 available student-training positions, while Indian FTOs produced 1,035 Commercial Pilot Licence holders during 2025.
• AFM previously reported that FIP wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 6, 2026 proposing that DGCA be replaced by an autonomous statutory Civil Aviation Authority, citing regulatory staffing and technical-capability requirements as India’s aviation and pilot-training sectors expand.

Source: Federation of Indian Pilots