No more cancellation of flights due to shortage of pilots in India! Air India is taking a huge step to ensure such a situation comes to pass. Though the Indian civil aviation market is projected to grow by leaps and bounds, thanks to the rising incomes of a large section of the population, a severe shortage of pilots is supposed to clip the wings of ambitious growth. In order to address this handicap, Air India has decided to start a pilot training school that will be capable of preparing 180 cockpit-ready pilots a year.
A first in India
This is the first time that such an initiative has been taken by any airliner in the country.
Maharashtra’s Amravati has been chosen as the location of the training academy.
It will train pilots with no experience in flying, The Economic Times has reported. Those who finish the course successfully would be absorbed by Air India.
Severe shortage
The shortage of pilots has been acutely felt in the aviation sector recently as fights begin to be added to the different companies running their services in the country.
According to aviation consultancy firm Capa India, as many as 82 aircraft would be added to the fleets of different airlines in the country taking the total number of commercial planes to 812.
Egg on their face
Recently, shortage of pilots had a telling impact on the operations of different airlines. Vistara, which is about to be merged with Air India, had a tough time in March-April when they had to cancel 10% of its flights when pilots took sick leave in a climate of mass dissatisfaction with salary and duty rosters.
In September 2023, Akasa Air was forced to cancel about 24 daily flights when more than 40 pilots abruptly resigned without serving any notice period.
Campbell Wilsons, the CEO of Air India has said that the company would induct an aircraft every six days this year. Incidentally, Air India hit headlines when it announced purchase of 470 planes, which was till then the biggest order by any airlines in the world. Thereafter, rival Indigo bettered the number by announcing the decision to buy 500.
Government encouragement
With a rapid expansion of fleets on the cards and severe shortage of pilots, the government is encouraging the setting up of pilot training centres inside the country. A lot of pilots, about 40%, now go abroad for training. These training courses are expensive demanding fees in the range of Rs 1.5-2 crore.
“Air India wants to be in control of the supply next generation of pilots. The school will be a critical part of the national carrier’s long-term talent pipeline. Second is the airline wants to ensure quality of training. The quality of training in flying schools in India leaves a lot of gap forcing students to go abroad,” an official told the newspaper on conditions of anonymity.
Air India has already set up a training centre at Gurgaon which has six simulators for training in flying a few particular type of aircraft. It has been done in partnership with Airbus & US-based L3 Harris.
Rules enjoin that a person must go through training to obtain a licence. Later, he/she might require type-rated training to operate a few particular aircraft type such as the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737.
With a rapid expansion of fleets on the cards and severe shortage of pilots, the government is encouraging the setting up of pilot training centres inside the country. As such, the upcoming Air India pilot training school will go a long way in filling the gap. Business Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
