Dreamliner pilot training weighs heavy on Air India operations

Flight delays owing to shortage of pilots continued to plague Air India’s domestic fleet even as one of its two pilots’ union claimed that the airline requires 200 new pilots to operate smoothly.

While 40 pilots operating narrow-bodied jets until four months ago were selected for training on the newly inducted Boeing 787 Dreamliner, only one has completed the training to operate flights without supervision.

“The airline is spending lakhs on training these pilots and nobody is being held accountable for their productivity. Most of the them are being paid without flying,” said a senior AI official, requesting anonymity.