'Preventing growth of civil aviation sector': India presses for global 'code of conduct' over pilot poaching

Montreal/New Delhi: India wants countries to agree to a new code of conduct on hiring each other's airline staff after raising concerns that its fast-growing aviation system is being stifled by the poaching of Indian pilots and cabin crew without adequate notice.

India, one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets, is wrestling with a shortage of experienced pilots, denting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aspiration of developing a job-creating global aviation hub. The recent fatal crash of an Air India jetliner has sparked tighter scrutiny of the sector.

But foreign airlines are repeatedly hiring skilled staff from Indian airlines, "adversely impacting India’s ability to develop its civil aviation sector in an orderly manner," India said in an August 1 working paper submitted to the UN's aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization.

"Airlines from other (countries) tend to recruit experienced pilots, engineers, technicians, and cabin crew from Indian carriers, preventing India's civil aviation sector from achieving planned and orderly growth," India wrote in the paper, without identifying any foreign airline by name.

"This practice creates a vicious cycle where Indian carriers are forced to continuously recruit and train replacement personnel by diverting resources from expansion activities and operational improvements."

The paper was released on the ICAO website ahead of its triennial assembly. It has not previously been reported.

India's Civil Aviation Ministry was not immediately available for comment.

India's government said in April the country would need 30,000 pilots over the next 15–20 years, up from the current 6,000–7,000, as airlines collectively had more than 1,700 aircraft on order.

India's domestic aviation sector is led by IndiGo and Air India, while all major international airlines from Emirates to British Airways to Lufthansa operate regular flights. In 2023, Air India exchanged barbs with Akasa Air over the poaching of pilots domestically.

The working paper asks for the creation of a code of conduct on the movement of skilled aviation workers among ICAO's member countries.

It doesn't specify how the code of conduct would work.

"These challenges cause economic losses that affect Indian carriers’ ability to compete in international markets ... and achieve its ambitious target of 300 million domestic passengers by 2030," the paper said.

ICAO, which seeks to use consensus to set standards on everything from runways to seat belts, was created after the United States invited more than 50 allies to agree in 1944 to a common air navigation system.