How Are Airlines Staffed Relative to Their Fleet Size?

Air travel across India was massively disrupted in the past week after IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, cancelled thousands of flights since December 2. According to different Indian media reports, between 2,000 and 4,000 flights were cancelled, stranding thousands of passengers across the country in one of the biggest aviation crises in years.

IndiGo, which has seen rapid fleet expansion, now operates over 2,000 flights daily and has been facing pilot shortages after failing to adapt to the new pilot rest and duty rules introduced by the government early last year. The Indian authorities have ordered a high-level inquiry to determine the reasons and accountability for the flight disruptions. The Civil Aviation Minister, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, blamed IndiGo for “mismanagement regarding their crew”, adding that other airlines were prepared for the changes.

According to the ministry's data communicated to parliament and reported by the Times of India, IndiGo has 5,085 pilots employed, compared to 6,350 and 1,592 for the two other major airlines of the country: Air India and Air India Express (its low-cost subsidiary), respectively. Looking at the size of their active fleets (data from Planespotters.net), IndiGo operates the largest, and its pilot-to-aircraft ratio (14 pilots per commercial plane in service) appears slightly lower than that of Air India Express (15) and much lower than its parent company, Air India (36). For additional context, until 2022, Air India was a "central public sector undertaking" before its sale to the Indian multinational conglomerate Tata Group. IndiGo, on the other hand, is a private company founded in 2006 and has since become the dominant player in the Indian aviation market, particularly by focusing on cost efficiency.

As our chart shows, if we compare the pilot-to-aircraft ratio of IndiGo to those of other major airlines in the world, the Indian company also appears relatively understaffed. Based on the most recent information available, the average ratio of pilots employed per aircraft operated is around 20, ranging from 18-19 (United Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Delta Air Lines) to 20-23 (Lufthansa, Ryanair, Air France).