Indigo ‘Blues’: After Series Of Flight Cancellations Due To Pilot Shortage, Demand For Flying Professionals Skyrockets

Indigo Airlines is expected to require the services of 1,500 to 2,000 pilots this financial year (2018-29) to tide over its current crisis of cancelled flights, reports Business Standard (BS).

Airport officials said that Indigo had cancelled 15 flights on Saturday (9 February) and seven on Sunday (10 February). “The airline has been facing problems in crew management. Therefore, these flights - which had to depart from Delhi yesterday and today - were cancelled.”

This pilot shortage is not specific to Indigo but an industry-wide phenomenon. Though domestic carriers added a large number of new aircraft in the past few years, the number of additional commanders recruited by carriers fell by around 10 per cent in 2017-18 over 2016-17.

“Indian airlines require over 800 commanders over the next one year,” Kapil Kaul a Sydney-based consultant had stated to Economic Times in July 2018. According to him, there might be a shortage of 30 per cent or 240 pilots in the country in the next 12 months.

Also, regulatory requirements make it challenging to hire expat pilots. “It takes 40-50-60 days. The regulatory approvals are also more stringent than in other countries,” said Cornelis Vrieswijk, CEO of no-frills carrier GoAir.

More Planes Keep Coming In

The demand for pilots is not going to go down anytime soon. Indian airliners added 120 aircraft in 2018, the most massive such addition in a single calendar year ever and the trend is expected to continue for the next three years.

Subsequently, India will require an additional 17,000 pilots in the next 10 years.

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