Airline expansion may run into pilot...

NEVILLE BHARUCHA, WHO runs Carver Aviation, said roughly 70% of his academy’s graduates are placed with airlines, while the rest either move into other aviation roles or seek opportunities overseas.

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Airlines argue that the bottleneck lies at the captain level.

“There is no shortage of copilots. The shortage is only of captains,’an Air India executive said, adding that more than 1,200 new copilots enter the system annually.

Becoming a captain typically requires between 2,500 and 6,000 flying hours, translating into six to ten years of experience. This long progression period has created a structural gap just as fleet sizes are ballooning. The problem has been exacerbated by the steady migration of experienced commanders to West Asian and Southeast Asian carriers offering higher pay, better rosters and tax advantages. The issue has been significant enough for the government to raise it at the International Civil Aviation Organisation, seeking a global framework to curb aggressive pilot poaching.