As of December 15, 2018, 324 foreign pilots are hired by Indian airlines against 313 as of January 1, 2018, data published by the Ministry of Civil Aviation showed. In August 2018, the number dropped to 298 but it increased in the second half of the calendar year.

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India’s largest carrier IndiGo has the highest number of foreign pilots at 93, higher from 59 in August and 87 in January last year. At 66 in December, Air India’s regional subsidiary Alliance Air is the only other carrier that saw a rise in the number of foreign pilots during this period.

GoAir reduced its foreign pilots' strength to 31 in December 2018 from 53 in January, while SpiceJet reduced the number to 19 from 36 during this period.

First Published:Jan 15, 2019 6:15 AM IST