Now, business jet licences may be issued in half the time

New rules could grant permits in six months

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is working on a policy that may halve the time needed to issue licences to business and private jet owners.

Scheduled and non-scheduled air operators have to meet the same guidelines now for a flying licence. The new rules could grant permits to the latter in six months.

“Non-scheduled operators  do not need to meet a lot of conditions of scheduled operators because they operate less complex aircraft. We are trying to come up with new rules for them to make their operation simpler,” a senior DGCA official said. There are about 130 non-scheduled air operators registered with the DGCA.

Separately, to promote regional  and remote connectivity, the regulator has constituted a committee comprising representatives from the Business Aircraft Operators’ Association and DGCA officials to recommend ways to improve use of assets in the aviation sector.

The industry has been asked to identity route clusters for starting operations, type of aircraft that can be deployed to maintain viable operations and recommend incentives to help non-scheduled operators to invest in appropriate aircraft type.

The industry’s recommendations are set to come up for consultation before the DGCA shortly.

These recommendations are a part of the consolidated report industry representatives recently submitted to the DGCA outlining policy guidelines for aircraft operating in the general and business aviation sectors.

A person in the know of the development said the recommendations included guidelines for training, licensing and flight-duty time limitation norms, safety in all weather conditions, single-pilot operations and aircraft management. Suggestions have also been made to promote regional connectivity.

There are no separate regulations governing general and business aviation in India. The DGCA had set up the committee headed by Joint Director-General Arvind Sardana for a comprehensive policy on business and private air operations.