Pilot shortage bogs AI down

Flights delayed by 30 mins to an hour daily; union claims airline needs 200 pilots, HT reports.

Flight delays owing to shortage of pilots continued to plague Air India’s domestic fleet even as one of its two pilots’ union claimed that the airline requires 200 new pilots to operate smoothly.

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Sources said the national carrier has been facing flight delays ranging from 30 minutes to an hour daily. On Sunday, lack of crew delayed a Riyadh-bound flight from Mumbai by 16 hours leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at the city airport.

Last month, the Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) had sent several reminders to the airline management to hire 200 pilots citing the shortage but the recruitment process is yet to begin.

While 40 pilots operating narrow-bodied jets until four months ago were selected for training on the newly inducted Boeing 787 Dreamliner, only one has completed the training to operate flights without supervision.

“The airline is spending lakhs on training these pilots and nobody is being held accountable for their productivity. Most of the them are being paid without flying,” said a senior AI official, requesting anonymity.

Sources said flight delays would soar over the next two months as delays due to fog could add to the problem.

“Already, the airline is falling short of three to four commanders every day. The situation could worsen on days when flights get held up by fog,” said another AI official, requesting anonymity. AI spokesperson did not respond to HT’s calls.