India's Pilot Shortage and Aviation Market Growth: A Critical Analysis

Abstract

Aviation industry in India is experiencing a paradox that has a potential of derailing its grand expansion strategies. The country has ordered 1,700 new aircraft, one of the biggest commercial air expansions in the history, but its expansion is threatened by a serious lack of pilots. The recent IndiGo crisis that left over 4,600 flights cancelled exposed critical weaknesses that are not limited to collapse of one airline. This paper examines three major issues related to the aviation labor issue in India the current crisis and the regulating action, the underlying factors that contributed to the pilot shortage, and significant actions that should be taken going forward to re-align ambition and capacity. It has been analysed that even with the 1.4billion population, the high training expenditure (70-90 lakhs rupees), the ruthless recruitment method used by international airlines, and regulation choke points have resulted in a perfect storm. The 13,000 employed pilots only 8,000 are in the air, with the projections indicating that 25,000- 30,000 pilots will be required to serve the planned fleet increase. This labour shortage endangers economic linkage, tourism development and competitiveness on the global front. The article suggests new financial models, retention policies, regulatory changes and diversification of pipelines as the way to go providing frameworks that can be extended to other high-growth industries dealing with specialised workforce limitations.