Pilot Shortage Is Said to Cripple Asia’s Biggest Budget Airline
- IndiGo is canceling dozens of flights for almost two months
- Indian carriers need 17,000 pilots in 10 years, CAPA estimates
An aircraft operated by IndiGo at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
IndiGo, an Indian budget carrier, is canceling dozens of flights every day over the next two months as it struggles to find enough skilled pilots following an aggressive expansion binge, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Pilots at Asia’s biggest low-cost airline by market value have exhausted their annual limit on flying hours earlier than expected, leading to the chaos, the people said, asking not to be identified as they are not authorized to speak to the media. IndiGo declined to comment on pilot shortage.