India arrests four in 'fake pilots' case

A total of seven cases involving faked qualifications have been reported to the police, says DGCA director general.

NEW DEHLI: Indian police said Saturday they had arrested four people, including a government aviation official, in connection with a growing scandal over pilots flying with fake qualifications.

Cases of pilots exaggerating their flying time while training and other irregularities have emerged since a captain who made several bad landings was found to have submitted faked paperwork to gain her licence.

"Four persons including an official from the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) were arrested on Friday," Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said, adding that further details would be released later on Saturday.

DGCA director general Bharat Bhushan told AFP, "A former assistant director who worked in the licensing division has been arrested. He worked in licensing for quite some time, until I moved him out in January."

"I had heard a lot of whispers about him, about money exchanging hands, but there was no proof, so I took a stand and moved him out after I took over the DGCA in December," Bhushan said.

Bhushan said that a total of seven cases involving faked qualifications have been reported to the police.

At least 10 people, including six pilots, who flew with Air India, Indigo and SpiceJet airlines, have already been arrested as authorities check thousands of licences.

The DGCA announced plans earlier this month to check if 4,000 pilot licences have been obtained legally.

Rising incomes and the liberalisation of the airline market in the 1990s have led to an explosion in air travel in India, with passenger numbers up 25 percent over the last 12 months.

With new routes and new aircraft, the half-dozen low-cost Indian airlines are competing fiercely for pilots.