Wanted: Trained pilots

India has become the poaching ground for several Asian carriers.

Air-India has for the first time taken a dozen pilots from the US on its rolls.

The government has raised the retirement age for pilots by one year to 61.

Pilots are being offered salary hikes of over Rs 100,000 per month to switch jobs.

With an unprecedented "boom" in aviation, the country is running short of pilots. Most carriers, state-owned as well as private, are in a scramble to lay their hands on trained pilots.

At present, there are about 1,200 trained commercial pilots in the country flying 165 jets. The problem is, there are not enough commanders among them.

"There is a sufficient number of co-pilots, but where are the people to sit on the left seat (the commander's position)?" asked Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel.

The problem will only increase in the coming days as the number of jets flying in the country is set to leapfrog to over 500 in the next five years. Patel reckoned that at least 7-8 new national carriers would commence operations in the near future, while all existing players would expand their fleets.

What has made matters worse is that India has become the favourite poaching ground for several Asian carriers that do a lot of business in the country. "The staff of some of them has 70 per cent Indians," Patel said.

To tide over the crisis, Patel has decided to raise the retirement age of pilots by a year. He recently indicated that a year from now, the bar could be raised by another year.

Thus, instead of 60, some of the pilots are likely to retire at the age of 62. Patel knows that this cannot be a long-term solution to the problem. The training academies and flying clubs in the country churn out around 100 pilots every year. Patel wants to raise the number to 150 by setting up a new academy near Nandyal in Maharashtra, a constituency he has represented in Parliament in the past.

When asked about the status of the project, Patel said the Maharashtra government had agreed to transfer the land earmarked for the training academy to a society, which would run the venture.

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Not many in the cockpit

Air jam

The number of jets in the country is set to leapfrog to over 500 in 5 years

At least 7-8 new national carriers will commence operations in the near future

Existing players to expand their fleets

Poaching problem

India is a favourite pilot poaching ground for several Asian carriers that do a lot of business in the country