IndiGo’s decision to hire 900 additional pilots by next year may ease current operational pressure, but a Moneycontrol review shows the airline has expanded its cockpit workforce more slowly than other major Indian carriers since the pandemic. From FY22 to FY24, IndiGo grew its pilot count from 3,791 to 5,038 — a 32.9% rise. In the same period, India’s total pilot pool increased 35.7%, meaning IndiGo’s national share has in fact dipped slightly despite its rapid fleet growth.
The gap becomes clearer when compared with the Tata group airlines. Air India more than doubled its pilot numbers, jumping from 1,116 to 2,536. AIX (formerly Air India Express) tripled its cockpit strength from 333 to 1,013 as it scaled operations. Together, the Tata group nearly doubled their pilots from 2,574 to 4,931 in two years. IndiGo added 1,247 pilots in the same period, but from a larger base and at a significantly slower pace.
This is striking given IndiGo’s continued fleet expansion—from 275 aircraft in FY22 to 366 in FY24, up 33.1%, almost matching its pilot growth. Meanwhile, Air India increased pilots far faster than its 32% fleet growth, AIX doubled both fleets and pilots, and Vistara grew both by about 40–44%.
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