Can Airline Transport Pilot License Be Denied On Ground That Flying Experience Of Applicant Is With Foreign Operator? Delhi High Court To Consider

The Delhi High Court has issued notice on a petition raising a pertinent question as to whether a person having flying experience from a foreign operator and holding a valid commercial pilot license issued by the DGCA can be denied issuance of an Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) on the ground that his flying experience is with a foreign operator.

Justice Rekha Palli issued notice on the petition and sought response of the Director General of Civil Aviation while posting the matter to October 12th.

Filed through Advocates Tishampati Sen and Riddhi Sancheti, the plea challenges the order issued by Dy. General of Operations, DGCA rejecting the application for issuance of ATPL to a pilot currently employed with Viet jet Airlines at Vietnam.

The said application was rejected by DGCA on the ground that the petitioner was found not to be complying with the flying experience requirements as provided in Section 'A' and 'M' in Schedule II of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 read with Rule 67A saying that the flying experience acquired with foreign operator cannot be considered towards issuance of an Indian license without submission of an application for conversion of an equivalent category of foreign license issued by an ICAO contracting state.

It was thus the petitioner's case that he is fully qualified by Indian standards having requisite experience of one thousand and five hundred hours of flight time from Foreign Air Line which is recognized by the competent Authority of Vietnam. 

"Vietjet Air line and Indian air lines are equal level and standard and hence foreign airline operator's experience should be counted without any objection ,Specially when all ATPL theory and oral exams were passed in India through examinations conducted by DGCA India itself. In such a situation ,There is no ground for rejecting the issuance of ATPL where all conditions are fully met," the plea reads.

The plea therefore states that the rejection of the said application after 7 months by the Respondent authority on 'flimsy and frivolous grounds' despite fulfilling all the requirements violates the petitioner's rights under Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21.

"There is nothing in these sections which bars or prevents the issuance of ATPL to the petitioner. No where it is mandated in these sections that only Indian Flying Experience with Indian Operators will be considered for issuance of ATPL and Foreign Flying Experience with Foreign Operators will not be considered at all for the issue of ATPL," the plea states.

In view of this, the petitioner seeks setting aside of the impugned order issued by the DGCA. He prays that the authority be directed to issue the ATPL along with the appropriate Instrument Rating based on the information and documents previously provided to the authority. 

Case Title: Gaurav Bansal v. DGCA

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