As passengers return to the skies, Indian carriers are back to hiring in significant numbers.
BY GAURAV JOSHI
The Indian aviation market is showing healthy trends, with various airlines looking to increase the workforce for all kinds of positions. As the threat of COVID becomes less intense, and passengers fill up airplane seats again, carriers are realizing the need for more employees across various departments. Many Indian airlines and one international carrier have announced openings recently, suggesting growing confidence in their businesses.
Hiring spree
For the aviation sector, a significant part of the last couple of years was defined by layoffs, furloughs, and job uncertainty. But as the industry attempts to shake off the effects of the pandemic, a new wave of hiring is taking place in many parts of the world. And India is keen to ride that wave as well.
Many Indian carriers have recently announced job openings, primarily for cockpit and cabin crew roles. Air India is holding walk-in interviews for cabin crew in various cities such as Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Guwahati, and Goa and is also looking for senior trainee pilots for its Airbus A320 fleet and pilots for Boeing 777 planes. In addition, it is also looking for MBA graduates for various positions in the company.
AirAsia India has also organized recruitment drives for cabin crew in Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, and Lucknow, while Vistara held similar hiring drives in Mumbai and Bengaluru.
India’s biggest airline, IndiGo, has also been hiring cabin crew for both ATR and A320 aircraft in Gurugram, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and other cities and has lined up several hiring events in the next few weeks.
One international carrier has begun hiring, too
Qatar Airways seems to have sniffed growing opportunities in India once again as it joins Indian carriers in increasing its employee base. The airline has announced that it is looking to onboard new employees from India to support its global operations.
Qatar is looking to recruit “a significant number” of new employees for roles such as culinary, corporate and commercial, management, cargo, customer service, engineering, flight operations, and ground services.
The airline’s CEO, Akbar Al Baker, commented,
“We are committed to bolstering our team and further strengthening the customer experience for travellers, while we boost our operational capabilities by seeking the right people. Qatar Airways has always had a special bond with India and with this recruitment drive, we are further solidifying our commitment to the market.”
Good recovery
Such reports of significant hiring come on the back of increased air traffic in India. Rating agency ICRA recently announced that Indian airlines recorded a year-on-year growth of 57.7% in domestic passenger traffic for 2021-22. The trend is likely to continue as the country welcomes the festive season soon, followed by the popular holiday winter months.
Indeed, from more than 19,000 job losses in India, representing around 10% in the airlines, airports, ground handling, and air cargo sector between March 31, 2020, and December 31, 2021, the current trend of hiring is a much-needed relief.
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