India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), is set to introduce a competency-based training and assessment (CBTA) framework for cabin crew, in a move aimed at enhancing the quality and effectiveness of crew training programmes, according to a senior official.

The CBTA framework, which was first implemented for pilots in 2022, will now be extended to cabin crew, marking another step towards global aviation training standards.

Shweta Singh, Chief Flight Operations Inspector at the DGCA, said that the regulator is expected to issue draft guidelines within a month, adding that the framework will initially be voluntary for airlines.

“The objective is to improve the competencies of cabin crew,” Singh explained. “For instance, if there is a fire in the cabin—how will they deal with it? How will they communicate? These types of performance indicators will be embedded in the CBTA framework to help them train better.”

She made these remarks on the sidelines of an aviation conference in the national capital on Thursday.

At the same event, Captain Ashim Mittra, Senior Vice President for Flight Operations at IndiGo, highlighted that the competency of crew members is far more crucial than simply increasing their numbers, noting that quality training directly impacts passenger safety and operational efficiency.

India remains one of the world’s fastest-growing civil aviation markets, with domestic airlines placing large aircraft orders to expand their fleets. This growth will, in turn, drive demand for skilled pilots and trained cabin crew, making the DGCA’s upcoming framework especially timely.

Once implemented, the CBTA framework for cabin crew is expected to modernise training standards, strengthen safety culture, and ensure that India’s aviation workforce remains aligned with international best practices.