Over 500 foreign pilots on rolls of Indian carriers

Indian airlines employed as many as 565 foreign pilots, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said.

Deccan Aviation Ltd, operator of India's biggest low-fare airline, has 131 overseas pilots, the highest number, followed by Jet Airways (India) Ltd with 117, Patel told Rajya Sabha today.

He didn't give any comparative figures from a year earlier or say how many pilots work in India overall.

India's air travel market will likely to grow 19 per cent annually in the five years ending March 31, 2012, Patelsaid

As many as six new airlines have started services in India over the past three years, boosting the demand for pilots.

India's air travel market will likely to grow 19 per cent annually in the five years ending March 31, 2012, Patelsaid, citing Airports Authority of India, the state-run airfield operator.