New US law may worsen Indian pilot shortage

Mumbai: A new US federal law passed mid-December may make it difficult for airline companies in India to recruit retired expatriate pilots to meet growing shortages.
The new law passed by the US government and called Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act allows both the pilot and co-pilot on a domestic flight to be up to the age of 65 years.
The earlier cut-off age was 60 years, which made it easier for Indian carriers to hire US pilots since commercial pilots in India can fly till the age of 65.
Airlines employ over 800 foreign pilots, out of 2,500 pilots in India. About 5 per cent of them are above 60 years and from the US. But the US is increasingly being seen as a major source for experienced commanders given an estimated requirement for over 4,500 pilots in the next five years in India.
“The new law will make sourcing of the pilots from the US difficult for us now,” admitted Air India executive director Jitender Bhargava.
Air India has about 800 pilots and of these 117 are foreign. The airline did not provide the number of US pilots, but Bhargava said the number was not significant.
Sources in Jet Airways said 100 of its 700 pilots are foreign and 15 of them are retired pilots from the US.
When asked how far the change in the US law will impact, Director General of Civil Aviation Kanu Gohain merely said, “We will have to wait and watch.”
For airlines in India the timing of the new regulation may be a problem. All of them are already short of pilots to command new- generation airliners like the Boeing 777s and the wide-bodied Airbus A330s that airlines ply on their international routes.
Domestic airlines can approach other sources for pilots from Europe, Brazil and other Scandinavian countries. But communication and language can be barrier.
18/12/07 Manisha Singhal/Business Standard