Overview of Indian Airline Pilot Workforce and FTO Expansion in 2025

India – The Government of India has reported that 13,989 pilots are currently employed across the country’s six major domestic airlines, reflecting the scale of cockpit-crew demand amid ongoing fleet growth and network expansion. The figures were shared by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on 8 December 2025.

• Air India employs 6,350 pilots, while Air India Express employs 1,592, representing the largest combined pilot workforce in the country.
• Indi Go, India’s largest airline by market share, employs 5,085 pilots.
• Akasa Air employs 466 pilots, Spice Jet employs 385, and government-run Alliance Air employs 111.
• The Minister noted that airlines continue to hire foreign pilots in limited numbers
• Mr Mohol also provided insights into FTO developements
• India now has 40 Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) operating across 62 bases, reflecting sustained expansion of national training capacity.
• As of November 2025, the DGCA has facilitated the induction of 61 new training aircraft into FTO fleets and approved two new FTOs during the year.

Source: Ministry of Civil Aviation