Budget airline, SpiceJet, has plans to train around 35-40 co-pilots and graduate them into

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full-fledged pilots, a top company official

said.

"We are looking at training some 35-40 first officers (co-pilots) to bring them on to the right (pilot) seat," SpiceJet Chief Executive Officer, Sanjay Aggarwal, told media here.

The first officers were being upgraded into pilots as the airline had plans to phase out expat pilots by the year-end, Aggarwal said, adding that, "14 first officers are already being upgraded into pilots."

"We have been mandated by the regulatory body, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), to phase out expat pilots. So we need to upgrade 35-40 pilots into captains," he said.

The pilot strength in SpiceJet presently stands at 204 RPT 204 of which 106 are co-pilots and 98 captains. Of the 98 captains, 44 are expats.

In addition, 22 first officers are undergoing training and would occupy the left seat shortly, he said.

The Government had recently said that an Indian air-carrier can use a foreign pilot "upto a time limit of four years or July 1, 2010, whichever is earlier."