13,989 pilots employed by six major domestic airlines: Govt

Six large home airlines person employed 13,989 pilots, with Air India and its low-cost arm, Air India Express, having 6,350 and 1,592 pilots respectively and IndiGo having 5,085 cockpit crew, Parliament was informed connected Monday (December 8, 2025).

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The fig of pilots astatine Akasa is 466, and astatine SpiceJet, it is 385, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said successful a written reply to a question successful the Rajya Sabha.

The government-run Alliance Air has employed 111 pilots, helium added.

The Minister said the complaint of employment among qualified pilots is babelike connected marketplace forces.

He said the rationale down airlines hiring overseas pilots, inter alia, is the request of a circumstantial type-rated aviator successful airy of fleet expansions and time-bound operational requirements.

Mr. Mohol besides said the flying grooming organisations (FTOs) are continuously upgrading their craft fleet by regularly inducting grooming craft fleets.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has facilitated the induction of 61 grooming craft by FTOs till November, helium said, adding that the civilian aviation regulator has approved 2 FTOs successful 2025.

As of November 2025, India has 40 FTOs operating crossed 62 bases, Mohol said.

He said the modernisation of flying-training infrastructure is marketplace babelike and undertaken connected the ground of the commercialized information of the FTOs, adding that the civilian aviation ministry presently has nary involution successful the same.

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"However, India being an ICAO member, DGCA aligns its grooming and regulatory model to ICAO's Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs). DGCA regularly assesses the prime and adequacy of flying grooming done robust regulatory framework," Mr. Mohol said.

A continued reappraisal of information standards is undertaken during the surveillance of these FTOs, successful accordance with the published Annual Surveillance Plan of the DGCA, the curate said. Special information audits and spot checks are besides carried retired arsenic and erstwhile needed, helium added.