MUMBAI: IndiGoNSE 0.05 % plans to hire as many as 100 expatriate pilots this year to add to its roster of flight captains and plug shortages that have forced India’s biggest carrier by market share to cancel flights, said a person with knowledge of the matter. The move will help it maintain schedules but increase staff costs, experts said.
The carrier has more than 200 planes and a pilot strength of over 3,000, which includes over 1,200 commanders, more than 50 of whom are expats. The hires will treble the number of pilots from overseas.
IndiGo’s crew addition has lagged its aggressive capacity addition. The airline had to cancel close to 150 flights in the last few days. Bad weather in Delhi and partial closures at Mumbai airport added to pilot constraints.
