10 New Aeromedical Centres Cleared Across India
New DGCA Medical Centres to Aid Pilot Availability
New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) today approved ten new Aeromedical Evaluation Centres across India in a move aimed at streamlining and expediting medical certification for pilots and aviation personnel. This expansion, bringing the total to 18 centres, marks one of the most significant regulatory interventions in civil aviation medical infrastructure since the empanelment of the first set of private medical facilities a decade ago.
The newly empanelled institutions — including Apollo Hospitals at five locations (New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Indore), Nanavati Hospitals and VM Medical Care Centre in Mumbai, Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune, and Max Multi Speciality Centre and Medanta Medicity in New Delhi — have been authorised to conduct all classes of DGCA medical examinations, from Class 1 to Class 3, as well as special and post-temporary unfit assessments. The move effectively decentralises a process that was previously concentrated in a handful of Indian Air Force (IAF) Boarding Centres, long seen as a procedural bottleneck.
Under the Directorate’s revised framework, these centres are required to maintain advanced diagnostic infrastructure, specialist availability, and strict adherence to national and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) medical standards. A public notice has been issued on the DGCA website detailing protocols, guidelines, and compliance requirements. Officials familiar with the development said the decision is intended to “modernise and scale up” the country’s medical assessment capacity in anticipation of growing demand for pilots and flight crew in the world’s fastest-expanding aviation market.
That demand is quantifiable. A working paper presented by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in August 2025 projects that India will require around 30,000 pilots over the next 15 to 20 years — nearly a fivefold increase from the existing 6,000 to 7,000 active licence holders. Independent consultancy forecasts estimate a requirement of 35,000 to 40,000 new pilots in the coming decade, with at least 7,000 needed by 2026. The figures align with India’s ongoing fleet expansion — over 1,700 aircraft currently on order — and a steady rise in domestic passenger traffic.
Officials acknowledge that administrative delays in obtaining or renewing medical certification have contributed to temporary pilot shortages, particularly when pilots are grounded awaiting evaluation results. By widening the network of evaluation centres, the DGCA aims to reduce those delays, ease pressure on IAF facilities, and improve turnaround time for medical fitness assessments. Aviation industry representatives have long flagged such bottlenecks as a practical concern, noting that pilot availability directly influences airline scheduling efficiency and safety margins.
The initiative, while framed as a service-capacity expansion, also reflects a broader pattern of regulatory reform within the civil aviation ecosystem — one that seeks to balance safety oversight with operational efficiency. The DGCA has, in recent years, adopted digital medical recordkeeping, automated reporting, and harmonised standards with ICAO norms. The empanelment of additional centres, officials said, is therefore not an isolated move but part of an integrated policy framework to enhance safety readiness, workforce sustainability, and regulatory transparency in India’s civil aviation sector.
The expansion comes at a time when the aviation workforce is undergoing generational and demographic shifts, with an increasing number of private training academies feeding into airline recruitment channels. For the DGCA, the challenge lies not merely in approving more centres but in ensuring uniformity of quality and consistency of medical judgment across institutions. Analysts suggest that success will depend on the Directorate’s ability to maintain rigorous audit mechanisms and periodic oversight to prevent procedural dilution.
While the DGCA has not yet disclosed the date from which the new centres will begin full operations, the approval is expected to take effect shortly following internal compliance verification. Industry observers regard the expansion as a practical step to address systemic gaps rather than a symbolic reform — one that could play a quiet but crucial role in sustaining India’s aviation growth trajectory through better-managed medical governance.
– global bihari bureau
