The dreams of becoming commercial pilots at the Karnal flying club, under the Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation, has become more expensive, forcing the aspiring commercial pilots to launch a protest from Monday.
They alleged that the fee for commercial training of 200 hours has been increased to around Rs 42-45 lakh from Rs 22 lakh earlier, brewing resentment among the trainees and they say their dreams are being priced out of reach.
Holding placards and raising slogans in the premises of the club, trainees demanded an immediate rollback of the revised fee structure. Many alleged that the hike was imposed midway through their course, despite no increase in training hours or changes to the curriculum.
“We enrolled believing the total cost would be around Rs 20-22 lakh, but now in the middle of our training, the fee has been more than doubled,” said a trainee pilot who had joined the club in 2022.
Another trainee said the hourly flying charge has been raised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000, while the mandatory training requirement remains unchanged at 200 flying hours. “Increasing the fee without increasing training hours is unjustified,” she added.
“At the time of admission, private academies were charging Rs 30-35 lakh, but in comparison the Karnal Aviation Club was much cheaper, due to which we opted this institution, but now the fee has crossed Rs 40 lakh, making it almost as expensive as private institutions,” he said, adding that he has completed around 120 hours of flying training. “If I leave now, years of effort and lakhs of rupees will go to waste,” he added.
The trainees also expressed concern over the impact of the fee hike on their future. “How youth could pursue careers in aviation if costs continued to rise so sharply. We demand the government to roll back the hike,” she added.
Besides, the protesting trainees also highlighted the issue of shortage of training aircraft, which significantly delays flaying schedules.
“We have already raised our issue with the Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar during his visit in Karnal last week, but are still waiting for relief,” said another trainee.
“We request the government to exempt existing students from the revised fee structure as we have already completed four to five years of the course,” he added.
An official of the Karnal Aviation Club admitted the hike in fee and said the decision was taken at the higher level.
