Pilot Training in Sri Lanka: CAASL Requirements and the Route Back to India

What CAASL states for a Commercial Pilot Licence

Source: Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, Commercial Pilot Licence requirements. Detailed hour-by-hour minimums sit in IS 72 and SLCAP 3010 — ask your school for the current text rather than relying on a summary.

How this differs from the Indian route

The most visible difference is the English Language Proficiency requirement, which CAASL states explicitly at ELPC Level 4 or higher as a condition of the licence. India's route places its educational condition differently: DGCA requires a 10+2 pass with Physics and Mathematics to sit the CPL theory papers.

The other difference is where the numbers live. CAASL points to Implementing Standard 72 for flying experience rather than publishing the hours on the licence page itself, so a figure you read on a school's website is a summary of a document you should read yourself.

Coming back to India

A Sri Lankan licence is a foreign licence as far as DGCA is concerned. Converting it means DGCA written examinations through the Central Examination Organisation, a skill test with a DGCA-approved examiner in India, medical fitness under Schedule II of the Aircraft Rules 1937, and a current rating — at least 10 hours as Pilot-in-Command in the preceding 24 months.

As with any training abroad, the Indian theory papers are the piece worth doing early. They are valid for five years once passed, and they are the step most likely to stall a conversion.

Before you enrol

• Confirm the school is approved by CAASL, on CAASL's own records.
• Ask for the IS 72 Appendix 3 hour requirements in writing, not a marketing summary.
• Confirm how and where you will sit the English Language Proficiency assessment.
• Plan the Indian DGCA theory papers into the timeline from the start.
• Check that your PIC currency will still hold when you apply to DGCA.