SpiceJet cadet pilot programme
In 2026, the SpiceJet cadet pilot programme costs ₹89.5 lakhPublished, going by the Spice Star Academy admission and fee page. That is the tuition before tax, in four instalments. The larger of its two merit scholarships takes about a third off and the smaller about a sixth, with only ten awarded a year.
Ready Aviator · Fees checked between 14 June and 5 October 2026
The tuition, and whether admissions are open
The academy's portal says admissions are open for 2026.
Ask for the current fee sheet and the refund clause before you pay anything.
What the fee covers
Inside the tuition
- Ground school for the DGCA papers.
- Flying to a commercial licence, with instrument and multi-engine work.
- The type rating on the Q400 or the Boeing 737.
- Housing for the first eight months.
Outside it
- Tax, which the sheet calls applicable and never gives as an amount.
- The application and assessment fees, paid before selection.
- Housing after month eight.
- Extra flying hours, if a stage needs repeating.
- Your medicals, the radio telephony test and the licence issue.
The instalment ladder
The four instalments add up to the tuition, and the first and last are non-refundable. On refunds the academy says only that, in exceptional circumstances, it may in its absolute discretion consider a refund of the unaccrued fee.
Neither SpiceJet nor the academy publishes a lock-in period or a penalty amount. The scholarships are capped at ten a year, so don't budget on one.
Who can apply, and how selection runs
- Aged 17 to 35 when you apply.
- 10+2 with 60 per cent each in English, Physics and Maths.
Eligibility as printed on 5 October 2026. Selection then runs in this order:
- Online application
- Assessment
- Psychometric stage
- Interview
- Class 2 medical
- Instalment one, on admission
You need a Class 1 before the licence is issued.
The assessment tests reasoning, the papers come after
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Sources: CAR 7-C-I; Spice Star Academy; Free Press Journal, 30 Jul 2026.