Government extends pilot licence validity to 10 years

The Union Civil Aviation Ministry has amended the Aircraft Rule 1937 and extended the validity of the airline transport pilot’s license (ATPL) and commercial pilot’s license (CPL) from 5 years to 10 years. In 2014, the pilot license renewal was extended from 2 years to 5 years. 

This change is expected to reduce administrative burden on pilots and aviation authorities like  Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). It will also promote a more streamlined and efficient licensing process

Other changes made in the Aircraft Rule 1937

• The government can take action against anyone exhibiting “false lights” like lantern lights, kite lights and laser lights in the vicinity of an aerodrome. Such lights can be mistaken by the pilot as aeronautical ground lights and can lead to accidents. It could endanger the lives of the passengers and the safety of the aircraft.
• For this purpose, the radius of the vicinity around an aerodrome has been increased from five kilometres to five nautical miles (around 9.2 km). 
• If any owner or person who is served a notice under the rule fails to extinguish the false lights within 24 hours, the central government or any person authorised by it could enter the place and extinguish the light.
• The government or authorised individual may also report the matter to the police station concerned for action under Sections 281, 283 or both of the Indian Penal Code.

Powers of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation 

• The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation is the nodal body for making national policies and programmes for the regulation and development of the civil aviation sector in the country.
• It administers the Aircraft Act 1934 Aircraft Rules, 1937.
• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi, Airports Authority of India and Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited come under the Ministry.
• It is situated at Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan at the Safdarjung Airport in New Delhi.

Union Minister for Civil Aviation: Jyotiraditya Scindia 

Director General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) 

• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the regulatory body in the field of Civil Aviation.
• It mainly deals with the safety issues in the civil aviation sector. 
• The DGCA also coordinates all regulatory functions with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Headquarters: New Delhi