Air India to hire 4,200 cabin crew, 900 pilots amid massive fleet expansion

In December 2022, images of Air India passengers stranded at Bengaluru airport for 13 hours blemished the former national carrier's recovery. This was just one among several other flight delays, reportedly caused due to a shortfall of cabin crew and pilots, which the airline denied. After placing the biggest order in aviation history for 840 aircraft, Air India is set to hire more than 5,000 people in 2023 for seamless operations.

To ensure glitch-free service for flyers, Tata-owned Air India is bringing 4,200 cabin crew trainees on board. In addition to that, 900 pilots will guide the fleet being expanded with new purchases and 36 aircraft to be leased. Eyeing a return to the good old days when Air India was hailed as the Maharaja of aviation, the cabin crew will be trained in hospitality and safety for 15 days.

Trained on flight and in classrooms, about 500 cabin crew have been deployed by Air India in the past three months. Since it took over the grand old carrier a year back, Tata has also merged its emerging airline Vistara with Air India to boost its recovery.

With ambitions of returning as India's aviation major and reestablishing the country's sovereignty over international connectivity, the largescale hiring will be instrumental for Air India.