India has cancelled the licences of 14 airline pilots after police accused them of faking documents, a senior aviation official said on Friday, but he dismissed worries about safety in Indian skies. "They have been accused of faking their flying hours," E.K. Bharat Bhushan, director general of civil aviation, told Reuters. "Police have filed (a case) and on that basis we have cancelled their licences."
Media reports of unqualified pilots have set off alarms in India, where the booming economy has led to an explosion in the number of people who can afford to fly. They have also raised questions about India's poor record in enforcing laws.
The reports came after a statement this month by the civil aviation minister that 57 pilots were caught between January 2009 and November 2010 with alcohol limits over those permitted, but only 11 were fired.