In the last 12 months, almost 25% of pilots have left the airline.
Air India Express, the budget wing of the government carrier, is facing a serious shortage of commanders or senior pilots, as almost one-fourth of them have left their jobs in the last 12 months.
Of 102 commanders, 26 had left the airline in the past one year, an airline official said.
"From a peak of 102, we now have only 76 commanders to pilot 21 aircraft. This is because 26 pilots have either completed their contract or quit the job in the last one year," the official, who requested anonymity, said.
A majority of those who have put in their papers at Air India Express are expatriate pilots in command position.
The official attributed the reason for these foreign pilots quitting to the deadline of July 31, set by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for Indian carriers to phase out expat pilots.
The deadline has been extended by one year following requests by most of the Indian airlines, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had said recently.
The official said since there was "uncertainty" over the deadline, some of the pilots had put in their papers as they did not want to take a risk.
While over 80 pilots are currently being imparted command training to occupy the right seat of the aircraft or the commander's position, the entire exercise would take about three to four months to be completed.
These pilots would be able to take over as commanders only after they are certified. AI Express flies mainly to the Gulf and Southeast Asian routes.
Now, it has 204 flights a week to 14 international destinations, besides a few domestic ones.
