A domain of the Indian Air Force’s medical authorities based at three centres since pre-Independence days, the Class I medical certificate compulsory for all Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) applicants has a waiting period of more than one year at present.

The DGCA is set to change that with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) already signed with Delhi’s Max hospitals, Mumbai’s Nanavati hospital and Chennai’s Apollo hospital to hold Class I medical tests.

“The move is aimed at clearing the massive backlog at IAF medical centres for a Class I medical test report,” says a senior DGCA official, adding that an announcement in this regard will be made this week.

If the private hospitals are allowed to conduct the test and issue a medical certificate, the waiting period for applicants is likely to fall to less than 15 days.

At present, Class I medical tests are carried out only at the Air Force hospitals in Rowriah, Assam; Vimanpura, Bangalore; and Subroto Park, Delhi. Applicants have to wait up to 15 months for just an appointment. The private hospitals, on the other hand, are looking at conducting tests of 10-20 applicants per day, with reports readied in a week’s time.

Both Max and Nanavati hospitals confirmed that they had reached an understanding with the DGCA.

“It is a prestigious project for us. The DGCA approached us some three months back to conduct Class I medical tests and inspected our hospital for it. We signed an MoU with the DGCA for the same on December 26 and we will start conducting the Class I medicals tests for CPLs in the second week of January,” says Dr Dilpreet Brar, Chief Administrator, Max Super Specialty Hospital (MSSH), Delhi.

He adds that what is involved is a basic fitness examination, including blood test, eye check-up and EEG. Brar says they already have applicants approaching them and, given the response, they may have facilities for the test at more than one branch.

Nanavati Hospital is in the process of putting together a team and some infrastructure to handle CPL applicants. “There will soon be online integration of the data with the DGCA so that applicants can access us through the DGCA as well as the hospital’s website,” says Dr Hiral Sarin, Manager of OPD at Nanavati Hospital.

The hospitals will be setting up a special panel of doctors to conduct the tests, while a DGCA specialist will be on board to clear the test reports.

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has long been demanding easing of licensing rules, complaining of the long waiting period at Air Force medical centres.

“This step should have been taken years back to prevent the shortage of pilots we face now. The FIP has been demanding this for years and the Kaw Committee, taking it into account, even made a recommendation for it. But the Government has simply been dragging its feet. The move will definitely help shorten the current waiting period,” FIP vice-president Capt V K Kukar says.