How To Tackle Indian Aviation Industry’s Pilot Deficit.
As the number of airports have multiplied in recent years, the demand for trained pilots, both in the domestic and international arenas, has risen exponentially. According to the Indian Aviation Experts, there’s a requirement of around 10,000 trained pilots per year against the current supply of 8000, of which 1,100 are women, in the domestic industry alone.
While commercial aviation is a lucrative and highly sought after career, the current supply of well-trained pilots does not correspond to the ever-increasing demand for pilots. As a result of such an acute shortage of pilots, pilot training schools in India are currently under the pressure of producing the maximum number of aviators.
Having said that, burdening pilot schools alone to tackle the aviation industry’s pilot deficit will be greatly unfair. Hence, we bring to you ways in which this deficit can be managed amicably:
- By Providing Better Training Organisations To Aspiring Pilots:
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According to Airbus, the ‘propensity of travel’ in India is 0.1 per capita per year, which is expected to increase to 0.4 per capita per year by 2037. This means that India is at the cusp of explosive growth in air travel in domestic and international markets. As a result of such high stakes, the demand for well-trained pilots will quadruple in the coming years. The 2019 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook projects that 804,000 new civil aviation pilots will be needed to fly for the next 20 years.
As intimidating as the above stats may seem, it can still be easily tackled with the help of pilot training schools in India. With proper training and regulatory resources, our Aviation Industry can combat the high requirement of pilots. But simply relying on pilot schools to train aspiring aviators will not help with the quality maintenance of the pilots. Moreover, the training and recruitment process will be much slower, which will restrain the plot supply. The tendency to cherry-pick pilots from the pool of unemployment should be a by-gone method, as it reduces both the quality and quantity of pilots.
The best way to provide training is to work closely with airline companies instead of being a standalone. Airlines need to take an active part in the training, development and recruitment of locally sourced pilots. While cadet programs have become increasingly popular among aspiring pilots, airlines need to recognize the financial pressure felt by students.
Most students don’t dare to opt for pilot training, even when they want to. This is primarily because pilot training is expensive, therefore reducing the probability of producing more pilots. To tackle this, airlines can subsidize the cost of training with a bond-bond program to get the best talent. A bond-bond program refers to the collaboration of airline companies and pilot schools to jointly take the responsibility of funding the training and recruitment process of aspiring pilots.
- By Encouraging More Women To Pursue Aviation:
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Image source: https://images.app.goo.gl/DwMgyHgBmGzJfaAi7
Contributing to gender equality in its own way, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has informed that India has the highest ratio of female commercial airline pilots than any other country in the world. The data compiled by the International Society of Women Airline Pilots 2020 further reveals that regional airlines in India are the biggest employer of female pilots with a gender ratio of 13.9%.
Yet, irrespective of these stats, the percentage of women is still smaller compared to their male counterparts. When our country faces a significant crisis in most fields, we must push forward our sisters and daughters to pursue aviation. As the aviation industry continues to battle the shortage of pilots, there is further inadequacy of female pilots. It’s high time that we encourage our women to stand at the front line of the aviation industry, such that they are no less than their male equivalents, both in calibre and aggregate.
- Faster And Easier Issuing Of Commercial Pilot License:
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Despite nearly having 8000 pilots over 650 commercial aircraft fleets, there has been a massive shortage of pilots and cabin crew in the Indian Aviation Industry. The exponential growth rate of commercial fleets in India suggests that the country will need over 28,000 pilots over the next two decades. But the current supply of pilots doesn’t seem to keep pace with such an increasing demand. As a result, several airline companies had to cancel or reschedule their flights entirely, thus disrupting their operation flow. In February 2019, Indigo, the largest Indian airline, cancelled nearly 70 flights for a week due to a shortage of pilots.
In response to such a dire situation, the Government of India has automated the process of issuing a Commercial Pilot License. Such fast and easy accessibility is expected to benefit over 700 aspiring pilots. This will ensure quicker completion of their training hours and thus get hired by airlines to compensate for their pilot deficits.
Conclusion:
As high as the stakes are, our Aviation Industry has managed to overcome even greater obstacles in the past years. At a ground level, the responsibility right now falls on the country’s youth aspiring to become pilots. As a potential pilot, it is necessary to dedicate yourself to the best pilot training schools in India, such as Aviators of Tomorrow. They have their branches worldwide and stand at the frontier of producing some of the country’s best pilots.