Air India to hire 100 Airbus co-pilots to reduce delays

NEW DELHI: National carrier Air India will hire more than 100 copilots for its Airbus fleet to cut flight delays, according to a senior executive of the airline.

The carrier’s poor “on-time performance” has been a concern for its management and the government for some time, and shortage of pilots and cabin crew is being cited as a key reason. Last month, the airline issued a notification to hire 800 cabin crew.
“Delays of our flights in domestic sector continue to be a problem and we will be hiring co-pilots for our Airbus fleet,” the Air India executive, who did not wish to be named, said. “The human resource department is working on the estimated requirement and it is likely to be somewhere between 125 and 150 pilots.”

According to the official, there are some 7,000 trained pilots in the country looking for jobs.

Data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA) shows that Air India operated only 52.1% of its flights on time in January. “Air India’s poor ontime performance is a concern.

We are monitoring it on a regular basis and hope things will improve after the recruitment of cabin crew and pilots,” said a senior ministry official.

In an attempt to improve Air India’s on-time performance, the ministry had issued salary cut orderscovering pilots, cabin crew, engineering staff, ground handlers and even in-flight catering suppliers.

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Source:economictimes