With 1,700 aircraft pending orders, India needs 30,000 pilots: Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu

India will need an additional 30,000 pilots once the pending orders for 1,700 aircraft from the Indian carriers are delivered, Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu said on Saturday (November 15, 2025).

Addressing a session on the sidelines of CII Partnership Summit here, Mr. Naidu said on the lines of FedEx, a global logistics company that has a dedicated airport in the U.S., the central government is also mulling the creation of cargo airports in the country.

Mr. Naidu also highlighted that currently India has about 8,000 pilots for a fleet of 834 aircraft, out of which 2,000 to 3,000 are not actively flying. The Indian carriers have already placed orders for 1,700 aircraft with makers such as Boeing and Airbus.

To run a plane, one aircraft in a proper schedule, you will need at least 10 to 15 pilots per aircraft, so that they can do the routes according to their schedule.

“So, 1700 planes, 10 to 15 pilots, the requirement would be around 25,000 to 30,000. That [demand] is going to be generated. Now, as these planes come in, imagine 30,000 pilots that is the demand that is there,” he said.

In order to meet the demand there should be more Flying Training Organisations (FTO) as the existing ones produce only a limited number.

The Minister underscored that one job in the Indian aviation sector creates 15 indirect jobs as against IATA’s figure of 6.

“It is very, very important for us to train our individuals and to have the skilling and training and ecosystem also perfectly done in the country,” he said.

Mr. Naidu further said the aviation cargo sector has been facing tough competition from rail and road transport, which are cheaper, even as airport operators focus more on improving passenger facilities, causing cargo to take a back seat.

According to the Minister, currently Indian manufacturers make aerospace components worth $2 billion and the target is to reach $4 billion by 2030 which is very much on the track.

The Centre has a long term goal of having a full aircraft designed and manufactured in the country itself.

“It has been there for a long time but no considerable filling up of the gaps. But now we see that India has come to the stage where we can manufacture, we can design, we can maintain our own aircraft today. So that is one area we are actively working on,” Mr. Naidu opined.

The Aviation Minister pointed out that on average, 4.8 lakh people are flying everyday in the country and 5.3 lakh people flew on November 10 which is an achievement.