How to become a pilot in India
Most families who see this through spend close to a crore, and three or four years pass before the first airline salary.
Ready Aviator · Costs checked 15 June 2026
What it costs from start to finish
A school's fee, usually ₹45 lakh to ₹65 lakhReported, buys the commercial licence and stops there. The type rating, living costs, re-sits and loan interest come on top.
Put together, the usual landing point is ₹80 lakh to ₹1.1 croreEstimated, in line with what students who have finished report. One slow year or a loan takes it past a crore, which is the safer number to plan around.
The route, in the order you take it
- 1Pass the Class 2 and Class 1 medicals
Do both before you pay any school a rupee. The Class 1 is the stricter of the two, and a Class 2 pass does not predict it.
Takes A few weeks, more for a Class 1 slotCosts ₹13,076 to ₹45,500Reported
- 2Get your DGCA Computer Number
Your ID on the DGCA exam portal. If your board has your Class 10 and Class 12 records in DigiLocker, the number is issued the moment you submit; if not, you upload a Board Verification Certificate for each and DGCA issues it within 12 working days. A name or date of birth that differs from your Class 10 certificate is the usual reason an application bounces.
Takes Instant through DigiLocker, or up to 12 working daysCosts FreePublished
- 3Choose the flying school on evidence
Ask for its DGCA ranking category, how many aircraft are flying against how many students are waiting, and when the last batch finished. Ask current students too. DGCA's first ranking, in October 2025, rated no school A; by April 2026 one had reached it.
Takes A month of visits and phone callsCosts Nothing yet. Never pay most of the fee upfront
- 4Clear the five DGCA papers
Air Regulations, Meteorology, Air Navigation, Technical General and Technical Specific, 70 per cent to pass each. Students say Navigation and Regulations are the two they most often resit, so start early.
Takes Six months to two years, alongside flyingCosts, per paper ₹2,500Published
- 5Fly the hours to a commercial licence
About 200 hours, with instrument and multi-engine work. Schools advertise 12 to 18 months; in India two to four years is common, because aircraft, instructors and flying weather run short. The course ends in DGCA skill tests. Students who trained in South Africa report about 14 months when nothing slips, and 18 months or more since mid 2025. Conversion in India comes on top.
Takes Two to four years is common in IndiaCosts ₹45 lakh to ₹65 lakhReported
- 6Pass the RTR(A) radio licence
A written paper and a practical, run by DGCA since it took the test over from the WPC wing.
Takes Weeks, then a month or two for the licenceCosts Current fee on the DGCA portal
- 7Get the licence issued
Apply on eGCA with the papers, hours, medical and radio licence in hand. Students report one to two months for a clean file.
Takes One to two monthsCosts Not publishedon any open page, checked 15 June 2026
- 8Buy a type rating only when an airline asks for one
Students who paid before an offer report waiting with a rating and no seat. Hold the money until an offer names the aircraft.
Takes Weeks of simulator and ground schoolCosts ₹11 lakh to ₹18 lakhReported
- 9Get through airline selection
Aptitude and personality tests (ADAPT on IndiGo's cadet route), English, a group exercise, an interview and a simulator check. A fail usually means waiting some months to reapply.
Takes A few monthsCosts An assessment fee, set by each programme
- 10Wait for induction, then fly as a first officer
Students report six months to two years between a type rating or selection and line training, and take-home pay below the gross salary at first. Command comes years later, after ATPL hours and a place on the upgrade list.
Takes Six months to two yearsPays ₹1,50,000 to ₹2,50,000 a monthReported
Jobs after the licence
India is short of captains, which gets sold as a pilot shortage. For years thousands of new licence holders waited for a first job; in 2023 the head of DGCA said about one trained pilot in three was out of work, and no official count exists.
Hiring picked up after the December 2025 duty-time crisis. The market is better than in 2023, but hiring comes in waves, so budget for a wait.
Bonds and notice periods
ALPA India, the pilots' association, said in July 2026 that cadet bonds run three years or more. DGCA's rules say a co-pilot must give at least six months' notice before leaving an airline, and a commander at least one year.
Before you sign, ask in writing what leaving in year one would cost.
If you are starting now
Keep a degree going beside the training, and borrow as little as your family can manage. The DGCA papers are the one part you can start today for nothing.
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Sources: CAR 7-X-II, clause 3.4; Free Press Journal, 30 Jul 2026.