IndiGo Starts Recruitment Drive For Experienced Pilots — Check Details

IndiGo, India’s largest passenger airline, on Wednesday officially opened applications for Captains and Senior First Officers to join its expanding Airbus A320 fleet.

The move follows a period of "operational recalibration" for the airline. The carrier has to, by February, comply with the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms by the DGCA, which is designed to reduce pilot fatigue.

IndiGo is now looking to significantly increase its cockpit crew ranks to ensure a stable flight schedule and minimise disruptions.

The airline is specifically seeking experienced Airbus-rated pilots who hold a valid Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL).

In an online form, the airline is asking details of candidates who have appropriate license type, the aircraft flying currently, current flying status, total flown hours, "total hours flown on A320 Family", "total hours flown on A320 Family as PIC", "total hours flown on A320 Family as First Officer", "last flight date on A320 Family", and current location.

This recruitment drive comes as the carrier aggressively scales its operations to maintain its 60% domestic market share and fulfill its massive aircraft order pipeline for 2026 and beyond.

IndiGo has hiked allowances for pilots by up to Rs 2,000 with effect from Jan. 1. The hikes, ranging from as little as Rs 25 to Rs 2,000, will be for various allowance categories, including domestic layover, deadhead and night. Also, pilots will be eligible for tail-swap allowance. Generally, tail-swap refers to replacing a scheduled aircraft with a different aircraft.

With the revision, a captain, who was earlier paid Rs 2,000 as domestic layover allowance for a 10.01-24-hour duration layover, will now get Rs 3,000. In the case of a first officer, the allowance for the same time frame will rise to Rs 1,500 from Rs 1,000 earlier, sources said.

For every hour beyond the 24-hour time frame, a captain will get Rs 150 from Rs 100 earlier, while the first officer will be paid Rs 75 instead of Rs 50 earlier. The night allowance per night hour for a captain and a first officer has been raised to Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000, respectively.

Also, the deadhead allowance per scheduled block hour for a captain has been increased to Rs 4,000 from Rs 3,000 and that for a first officer to Rs 2,000 from Rs 1,500, sources said. Deadhead refers to a pilot flying as a passenger to another destination to operate a flight from there.