Tata Group-owned Air India (AI) will now allow its pilots to fly until the age of 65 as it looks to ensure adequate manpower for its fleet expansion plans. Currently, Air India pilot’s retirement age is 58 years.
“Considering future expansion plans for our fleet, it is imperative to meet our workforce requirement for pilots. DGCA ((Directorate General of Civil Aviation) allows pilots to fly till the age of 65 years, compared to Air India retirement age of 58 years. Allowing pilots to fly till the age of 65 is a practice followed by most airlines in the industry,” the airline’s internal document dated July 29 stated.
“To meet our requirement, it is proposed to retain our current trained pilots at Air India post-retirement on a contractual basis for 5 years extendable to 65 years,” said S D Tripathi, AI’s chief human resource officer (CHRO) in the document.
