IndiGo to recruit over 1,000 pilots: 5,000 flights were cancelled in December due to a crew shortage; the company is now preparing for a backup.

IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, is preparing to recruit pilots on a large scale. The company will hire over 1,000 pilots. This is one of the largest recruitment drives undertaken by any airline in the Indian aviation sector.

This decision follows operational difficulties in December last year, when over 5,000 flights were cancelled in just seven days due to a crew shortage.

Recruitment will be for positions ranging from trainee to captain. According to media reports, IndiGo’s recruitment process includes the positions of trainee first officer, senior first officer, and captain. The company is taking this step to expand its operations and meet regulatory requirements.

IndiGo will add four new aircraft to its fleet every month. New pilots are needed to fly these aircraft. The company is promoting 20 to 25 first officers to captain status every month. It takes six months for a trainee officer to become a captain. 1,500 hours of flying experience are required to become a captain. The company is tightening these standards.

Complying with DGCA regulations is a challenge. According to the regulations, each aircraft must have three sets of pilots (one captain and one first officer). However, IndiGo’s aircraft are heavily utilized, requiring twice the standard number of pilots.

An investigation found that the company needed 2,422 captains, but at that time, it had only 2,357 captains available. In light of the crisis, the DGCA granted some temporary relaxations to night duty regulations until February 10.

Why the crisis arose in December: New pilot rest rules were implemented in December. Under these rules, the number of landings between 12 midnight and 6 am was limited and the weekly rest period was extended.

The DGCA investigation revealed that IndiGo had not made adequate recruitment efforts or increased training to meet the new regulations. This led to increased workload for pilots and a significant number of flight cancellations.