New Delhi:- India's aviation sector is struggling with a huge shortage of pilots. But why? There is a shortage of pilots due to increase in the cost of pilot training. According to the CPL release, IndiGo needs 11778, Air India 5870 and SpiceJet requires 1630 pilots. After the recent discussion in the Lok Sabha, this issue came under the purview of investigation. Airlines pilot Association of India said, “The number of pilots has come down due to expensive training.

Government's response: Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Muralidhar Mohol said that the government has received the representation of ALPA on the regulation of training cost. Currently there is no proposal to regulate such fees. He said that the cost of pilot training is affected by many factors. Of which, high cost of aviation fuel, use of imported aircraft for training, expensive aircraft spare parts, cost of imported flight simulator and number and type of aircraft used in training.
Lack of pilots: The minister also claimed that there is no shortage of competent pilots in the airlines. The data of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation shows contrary to the government's claim. The total number of commercial pilot license (CPL) issued in 2024 decreased by 17% as compared to 2023. A total of 1,342 CPLs were issued, while 1,622 CPLs were released last year. There was an unprecedented increase in the waiting time for the CPL released in 2023, 40% higher than the CPL released in 2022.

ALPA India President Sam Thomas expressed concern over the government's attitude, saying, “We are a little confused with the minister's statement in Parliament. He clearly said that there is no shortage of pilots. Is the treasure.

Number of monopolized pilots, expected to increase the demand of pilots in the next decade, India 5870 SpiceJet 1630 Air India Express 2196 IndiGo 11,778

High Training Cost: Aviation industry pilot is facing problems to high cost of training. ALPA India has mentioned that these costs are becoming parasites on pilot trainees and preventing many people from becoming pilots. ALPA Captain Varun Chakrapani pointed to adverse effects of the current situation. “It has declined last year. This is due to high advance investment costs due to airlines in subsidized rates or even type ratings at market price.

Work pressure on the pilot: Captain Varin Chakrapani said that due to lack of pilots, airlines are pressing the existing pilots by giving them rigorous schedule instead of improving working conditions and allowances. With this, pilots leave the job again in search of better lifestyle and salary. Due to lack of pilots, pilots are tired of flying four sectors a day, which has a serious impact on flight safety. Chakrapani also introduced the recent security incidents as proof of pilot fatigue.

Lack of government intervention: Despite these increasing concerns, Minister Mohol has said that there is no plan to start a program to promote financial assistance, loan or concessional loan to pilot trainees. Even if they suffer from financial difficulties. Lack of financial assistance is a very big issue. Given that the cost of pilot training can be more than 1 crore, many people will be unable to carry that training without any major financial help.

Demand from the government: Since the Indian aviation sector is expected to increase rapidly in the coming years. Therefore, there is a need to identify the solution to reduce the difference between the supply of pilots and the demand of pilots. The stakeholders of the industry are demanding immediate response measures. These include financial assistance like monitoring the cost of training to deal with the economic crisis, subsidized loans or scholarships for trainees.

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