Pilot crunch slows airline expansion plans

IN ROUGH WEATHER ■ CAPA estimates demand for 10,900 additional pilots by 2030, or roughly 1,600 every year ■ Command upgrades require 2,500-6,000 flying hours over many years

- YARUQHULLAH KHAN

AS DOMESTIC AIRLINES prepare for one of the largest aircraft induction cycles globally, the country's aviation sector is grappling with a widening gap between demand for pilots and the capacity of the training ecosystem to supply them - particularly at command level.

According to aviation consultancy CAPA, carriers will need around 10,900 additional pilots by 2030, or roughly 1,600 every year, to operate the expanding fleet. Yet the problem is not a lack of licences alone.

While flying schools continue to produce hundreds of first officers annually, airlines say the real shortage is of experienced captains, creating a structural mismatch that investment alone may not immediately resolve.

"We have 36 academies producing pilots, but they are largely left on their own. On one hand, airlines say there is a shortage.

On the other hand, pilots are moving around with CVs, willing to take even clerical jobs. The mismatch is glaring," Lokesh Sharma, senior aviation and defence analyst, told FE.

He pointed out that while flying schools may graduate around 200 pilots a year, barely half find cockpit placements.

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.

Airlines argue that the bottleneck lies at the captain level.