'Future of Indian Aviation': Air India Invites Applications From Pilots Amid IndiGo Crisis
The latest hiring drive from Air India comes after IndiGo struggled to rope in more pilots to stabilise flight operations.
Amid IndiGo's massive flight cancellations, Air India has stepped up its recruitment process with an advertisement on Monday that invited applications from experienced pilots for its Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 fleet.
"The sky is not the limit, it's just the beginning," read the job notification on Instagram by the airline, which the Tata group bought back from the Union government in October 2021.
"Command the future of Indian aviation. We're inviting experienced B737 & A320 Pilots to join our growing fleet. Submit your application by 22nd December. Apply now at the link in our bio," reads the caption.
As per the advertisement, the airline is looking for experienced 'Type Rated' pilots in command for its A320 fleet. For the B737 fleet, it is looking forward to hiring experienced 'Type Rated' and 'Non-Type Rated' pilots in command.
Type rating is related to the certification of those pilots who have completed testing and training on specific aircraft.
The latest hiring drive from Air India comes after IndiGo struggled to rope in more pilots to stabilise flight operations, which have been severely affected after the new Flight Duty Time Limitations that came into effect in November. In the last week, IndiGo has been hit by massive disruptions, cancellations, delays and rescheduling of hundreds of flights due to a sudden shortage of pilots and crew members.
The crisis began after IndiGo enforced the revised FDTL rules that were issued last year by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
On Monday, IndiGo cancelled 500 flights, while assuring to operate 1,802 services, said a civil aviation ministry statement, as per an NDTV report.
Last week, the Federation of Indian Pilots sent a letter to the DGCA alleging that the airline IndiGo imposed a "hiring freeze" even after having the two-year window to make itself ready for the rollout of new flight duty and rest period norms for pilots.
"Despite the two-year preparatory window before full FDTL implementation, the airline inexplicably adopted a hiring freeze, entered non-poaching arrangements, maintained a pilot pay freeze through cartel-like behaviour, and demonstrated other short-sighted planning practices," the FIP said in its report, according to a PTI report.
According to the civil aviation ministry data, 5,86,705 PNRs were cancelled or refunded by IndiGo between Dec. 1 and 7, amounting to Rs 569.65 crore.
