NEW DELHI: India has sounded a caution for students headed abroad for pilot training. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a notice for such students and their parents that it “has no role or responsibility in the regulation, oversight, quality, progress or completion of pilot training undertaken at organisations/ institutions situated abroad and approved by other states (countries)”.“Any issues arising out of training delays, interruption of training, non-completion of flying hours, change in training schedule, or any administrative delays at such foreign based training organizations are the matters solely between the student and the concerned institution and DGCA India has no role of any kind in this. Refund of fees, financial disputes, change in terms of training, or any contractual disagreements between the student and the foreign based training organizations are outside the purview of DGCA,” the notice says.“DGCA shall not be responsible or liable for any accident, incident, safety, injury, insurance claim or loss occurring during the course of training abroad. 5. Before enrolling for pilot training outside India, students are strongly advised to conduct due diligence at their level on the FTO’s approvals, safety record, training quality, fees, refund policy, and contract/agreement terms,” it adds while advising students and their parents/ guardians “to exercise due caution and make informed decisions.”India enables conversion of pilot licenses issued by other ICAO contracting states into Indian pilot licenses. “To avail this provision, a number of Indian nationals (students) enrol themselves every year to foreign based Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) approved by concerned State’s Civil Aviation Authorities, for undertaking pilot training courses.”
