Air India plans to recruit over 4200 cabin crew and 900 pilots by 2023

At the moment, the Tata Group-owned carrier has around 1,600 pilots against a fleet of 113 aircraft fleet.

According to media reports, the carrier has had instances of ultra-long-haul flights getting cancelled or delayed due to crew shortages.

The development comes close on the heels of Air India’s announcement to buy 470 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, as a step forward to support its ambitious expansion plan.

Air India has two subsidiaries—Air India Express and AirAsia India, and a joint venture with Singapore Airlines—Vistara.

"The cabin crew, who will be recruited from around the country, will undergo a 15-week programme imparting safety and service skills, and will be coached to exemplify the best of Indian hospitality and Tata group culture. The training program will include extensive classroom and in-flight training at the airline’s training facility in Mumbai as well as familiarization flights," the airline said in a statement.

Air India has recruited more than 1900 cabin crew members from May 2022 to February 2023. In the last seven months, over 1,100 of these cabin crew members have undergone training (between July 2022 and January 2023).

In the past three months, about 500 of the newly recruited cabin crew members have been cleared by the airline for flying.