India’s civil aviation regulator, the DGCA, has approved two Hyderabad-based flying academies — Flytech and Wings Aviation — to operate as drone training schools. With this, there are now three DGCA approved drone training schools in India, after the regulator had approved Maharashtra-based Bombay Flying Club on July 24. Amber Dubey, who is the joint secretary at the Civil Aviation Ministry and in charge of drones, on Wednesday said that more drone training schools are expected to receive DGCA’s approval, and this move is going to bring in “standardization and better quality control in the fast growing drone sector”. While the Bombay Flying Club (BFC) had earlier said that it will start its courses from mid-August, at the moment it isn’t clear when the two Hyderabad-based training schools will commence their programs. We have reached out to them for more details. When the BFC was given DGCA approval, it was on the condition that the safety and security of drone operations will remain BFC's responsibility, and that the organisation will have to ensure the safety, security and privacy of public, property, and operators, among others. In June, DGCA had floated a draft circular which proposes to allow willing organisations under central and state governments, government-approved universities, and even private drone manufacturers to sign up as drone pilot training schools. This was a significant circular since as of now, only DGCA authorised Flight Training Organisations are allowed to apply for becoming drone training schools.
