Overview
- Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu said deliveries will require roughly 10–15 pilots per aircraft, creating demand for 25,000–30,000 additional aviators.
- India currently has about 8,000 pilots for a fleet of 834 aircraft, with 2,000–3,000 not actively flying.
- He called for more Flying Training Organisations because existing schools produce only limited numbers of commercial pilots.
- The government is considering dedicated cargo airports modeled on FedEx’s hub as air freight loses share to cheaper rail and road and passenger-focused upgrades.
- Officials target growing aerospace component output from about $2 billion to $4 billion by 2030, alongside a long-term goal of designing and manufacturing a full aircraft in India.