SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Commercial pilot
Flying passengers or cargo for airlines.
Facts checked 17/10/2026
- Class 11–12 subjects
- Class 12 with Physics and Maths. Students without them often take these subjects through NIOS. A change to open this to all streams has been discussed but not confirmed.
- First degree
- No degree needed. Training at a DGCA-approved flying school leads to a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL).
- Entrance exams
- Flying school selection, DGCA theory exams, and airline cadet programme tests.
- Licence or registration
- Commercial Pilot Licence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), with a DGCA medical.
What the work is like
Flying for airlines, cargo, charter and training; later, captain and instructor roles.
The path, step by step
- Class 12Physics and Maths. Get a DGCA medical early — before paying for training.
- TrainingA DGCA-approved flying school, or an airline cadet programme (for example, Air India asks for 60% in Class 12 and in English, Maths and Physics, minimum age 18).
- LicencePass DGCA theory exams and flying hours for the CPL. (reported — check with the official body)
- AfterType rating for a specific aircraft, then airline first officer.
Good to know
- Training is expensive; ask for the full cost and refund rules in writing.
- Some reports say DGCA has dropped the Physics/Maths rule; we found no official notice, so treat it as unconfirmed.
About pay: it varies a lot by city, employer and skill, and changes year to year, so we don't print salary numbers. Ask us in a session and we'll show you current, sourced figures for your case.
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