India Sends the Foreign Pilots Back Home
India’s airlines, in a slump, are sending the following message to the cockpit: Foreign pilots, go home.
It’s an abrupt turnaround from the past several years, when Western pilots looked to growing markets like India as saviors for their profession. While carriers in the U.S. and Europe struggled with the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, India was opening its skies to new domestic carriers — and hiring hundreds of foreign pilots to fill the new planes with experienced fliers.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
So the Indian government is forcing their companies to fire foreign pilots to give Indian pilots a chance for these limited jobs, yet is angry that the US government would dare do the same thing for American IT workers.
The foreign pilots should organize, donate to the various MPs of the Indian government, and raise alarmist notes that by doing so, the Indian government is strangling Indian airline companies and encouraging them to relocate overseas to America or to Europe.
Foreign pilots should also start screaming everywhere on all levels that indian air industry will die without them.
Well, the analogy isn’t valid, because there are more Indian IT workers, percentage-wise, than there are foreign airline pilots.
Anon (#5387):
If the Indian government prohibits Indian airline companies from hiring more skilled foreign pilots over local Indian pilots, they risk the chance of starving the innovation of their airline companies. It’s not the foreign pilots fault that Indian are too lazy to get degrees in aeronautics and learn piloting. The Indian government’s ruling will just protect the lazy middle-aged Indian pilots from competition based on skills and ability.
If the Indian government turns away these foreign pilots, they will just go to another country and work for airlines there. They will add to the competition of the Indian airlines. The Indian government is just shooting themselves in the foot. The Indian government is wrong to think that they can resort to protectionism in this global economy to survive. They should embrace free market principles and let foreign workers take jobs over Indian workers in India if the foreign workers are better skilled and will work for less.
Look at how immigration benefitted India. I bet most of the Indian airlines were founded by immigrants.
I don’t think anything prevents Americans from getting degreens in (Computer) Science, Engineering or Math, but for some reason they don’t, as is immediately obvious to anyone who visited a university these days.
So yes, without Indians many IT companies would have to close shop, while without pilots, even if _all_ pilots are foreign… well India isn’t that large anyway - trains would do.
There’s nothing that prevents Indians from getting degrees in aeronautics or pilot training either. But India cannot fill all the slots for pilots from homegrown talent.
And if India prevents these slots from being filled by better qualified foreign pilots, their airline industry will die. So India could then use trains to move people domestically but how do you take a train to India if you are coming from the US or South America? You still need airliners and if the Indian government lets their airlines die, then foreign airliners like United will be the sole providers of air travel.
>how do you take a train to India if you are coming from the US or South America
Same thing as when your local population doesn’t study computer science - you ousource. Lufthansa flies to Bangalore every day, I’m sure other airlines do, too.
In other words, you’re agreeing with me. If India bans foreign pilots, the Indian airline industry will die and foreign airliners will service India.
India needs more, not less, skilled immigrant workers to sustain the growth of its economy.
Do u think tht u’re the smartest person than the millions of govt. employees working in indian government ? if so , than u r in kind of big misunderstanding. Before criticizing indian pilots u need to look for urself first. foreign pilots must be having some extra experience but tht doesn’t ‘t mean tht they are the only option for indian airlines to survive. During this recessionary time , indian employees were still continuing with their job , and this shows a strong economical foundation.
and if foreign pilots can work for some other airlines in diff. country than why the heck their wasting their time here ?
foreign idiots can’t even speak their mother language english properly …. i wonder how they would be flying an airpne with lot many lives ?
Indian economy is not dependent upon any such creatures. india does have skilled pilots and we thank DGCA circular.
INDIAN AVIATION INDUSTRY DOESN’T NEED ANY FOREIGN IDIOT TO SURVIVE.
All the assumptions here are wrong. Foreign pilots were hired because of sudden boom in Indian aviation during 2003-2005 period and at that time there were not enough Indian pilots to fill the posts.
And these expat pilots are in no way more skilled or more qualified than Indian pilots. In fact these foreign pilots are responsible most of the small incidents in civil aviation that took place in last decade, attributed to their unfamiliarity with Indian skies (weather, flight procedures, accents)
Isn’t it only logical that the Indian government protect the interest of its own citizens?
I am a qualified commercial pilot looking for a job in the airline. It is gonna take some time.
Currently there is a shortage of Commanders in India. What need to be done first is to have enough Indian commanders, this will happen when the Indian pilots who are currently flying as first officers (co-pilots) get qualified to become Captains.
The next step is to hire and train newly qualified commercials pilots (including yours truly) to become first officers.