Civil aviation sector to employ 100,000 more people by 2024: Ministry

During 2019, 2020 and 2021, at least 2,368, 400 and 296 pilots were recruited, the aviation ministry stated

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is aiming to employ 100,000 more people by 2024, taking the total direct employment in the sector to 350,000, according to a report tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday.

The 15th report of the Committee of Estimates stated that the total number of direct and indirect jobs which will be generated by the aviation and aero manufacturing in two years will be close to 2 million, out of which 50 per cent jobs will be generated for blue-collar workers.

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the aviation sector was one among the many sectors that were impacted majorly. While major airlines incurred huge losses, many employees were laid off, sent on leave without pay, or their salaries were cut.

According to the report, "conservative estimates show that the current direct employment in the aviation and aeronautical manufacturing sector is around 250,000 employees." The total number includes pilots, cabin crew, engineers, and airport staff among others.

To cater to the expected growth of the passenger traffic, the report said the fleet size is also expected to grow substantially, with an additional requirement of 10,000 pilots during the next five years.

During 2019, 2020 and 2021, at least 2,368, 400 and 296 pilots were recruited, the ministry stated in the report, adding that Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued 862 Commercial Pilot Licenses in 2021, which is an all-time high.

Keeping the aim of building human capital, the MoCA has mentioned that there are a total of 35 Flying Training Organisations in India, which are approved by the DGCA.

At present, India has a total of 136 airports, out of which only 109 are operational. Out of the 109, 24 are customs airports and 75 are domestic. While the number of operational airports has gone up in the last decade, the passenger handling capacity has also increased significantly from 219.96 million in 2014 to 407.27 million in 2022.

The report mentioned that capital expenditure in the civil aviation sector rose as well from Rs 1,399.87 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 5,418.73 crore in 2022-23. The domestic tariff has more than doubled, from nearly 61 million in FY 2013-14 to around 137 million in FY 2019-20, it added.