Employment Opportunities: The Rise Of Indian Aviation Industry The new fleet expansion orders placed by Indian airlines pave the way for tremendous employment opportunities in the aviation and allied sectors in India

The recent landmark deal between Airbus and IndiGo marks a significant milestone for the aviation industry, particularly from a talent demand perspective. With IndiGo's order for 500 Airbus A320 family aircraft, valued at a staggering $50 billion, it not only establishes itself as the largest-ever single aircraft purchase by any airline with Airbus but also paves the way for tremendous employment opportunities in the aviation and allied sectors in India. This announcement is the second after Air India's deal with Boeing and Airbus a few months back and is expected to have a multiplier effect on employment generation in India.

Four months ago, Air India announced the purchase of 470 aircraft, split between Airbus and Boeing. When announced, the carrier signed agreements with the manufacturers stating its intent to acquire the aircraft but not purchase agreements that were signed at the Paris Air Show. The order includes both narrowbodies and widebodies from both manufacturers, with Airbus at the top, with 50 more aircraft than Boeing.

"Growing our network is an essential part of Air India's Vihaan.AI transformational journey and we remain committed to increasing connectivity and frequency of flights both domestically and internationally. These additional aircraft leases will support our near term growth even as we finalize plans to refresh and significantly grow our long-term fleet," Campbell Wilson, CEO, MD, Air India had earlier mentioned.

According to US aircraft manufacturer Boeing, India may need to hire 31,000 pilots and roughly 26,000 mechanics over the next 20 years due to the increasing order books of aircraft original equipment manufacturers. Speaking on the sidelines of a CII event earlier this year, Boeing India President Salil Gupte also said the South Asian region is expected to remain the fastest growing market globally over the next 20 years.

Source: NLB Services

According to NLB Services, a global technology and digital talent solutions provider, India is currently grappling with a shortage of pilots; it only has 9,000 pilots flying 700 aircraft. In the next one year, the new planes will require 1,800-2,000 pilots. This is over and beyond the rising demand to manage private fleets.

Both the deals put together (Air India & Indigo) are expected to create over 4 lakh jobs directly and indirectly by 2035 across technical and non-technical roles. Demand for pilots alone is expected to grow three times every year for the next five years and demand for critical technical profiles like aircraft craft engineers and aerospace engineers is expected to grow by 10-15 per cent, said a report by NLB services.

"Some of the must-have skills for the aviation industry include knowledge of aerodynamics, navigation, problem-solving skills, avionics, aviation security, and aviation hospitality skills amongst others," said Sachin Alug, CEO, NLB Services.

At the Paris Air Show, India's newest airline announced an order for four additional Boeing 737-8 jets at the Paris Air Show, a follow-up to the already placed order of 72 aircraft taking it to a total of 76 aircraft which include 23 737-8s and 53 high-capacity 737-8-200 aircraft. The airline is also on course to announce another significant three-digit aircraft order by the end of 2023.When it comes to expansion plans, hiring and employee policies are salient. The airline started with around 250 employees, "Today we are over 2,500 employees, we've been hiring at a pace of over 175 employees per month. By the end of this fiscal year, we'll have around 3,500 employees," said Vinay Dube, CEO, Akasa Air.

As part of expanding its fleet size, the airline is planning to hire 125 employees per aircraft. "Generally, airlines hire 14 to 15 pilots and 25 to 30 cabin crew per aircraft. We will be hiring in advance of our need because for a growing airline you don't hire based on your current fleet, you hire based on the fleet that you will have in the next three or four months. So, we'll be hiring 300 pilots over the course of the next few months and multiples of that in terms of cabin crew,airport customer service, security staff as well as engineers," Dube explained.

With the thriving aviation market, rapid infrastructure development, and a young and skilled workforce, India is poised to shape the future of the aviation industry. The new orders by Indian airlines serve as a testament to the vast opportunities that lie ahead, propelling India towards becoming a global aviation powerhouse.

Expressing optimism for the employment prospects associated with the deals, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told media during the Paris Air Show, "Every dollar invested in civil aviation yields $3.1 in terms of new growth, as well as the employment multiplier. Every direct job in civil aviation results in 6.1 indirect jobs in the sector. And therefore, there are tremendous dividends that accrue from the ever-expanding civil aviation sector."