Life of a pilot in COVID-19 times: Little flying, diminishing salary and high EMIs

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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A monthly payslip of Rs 7.5 lakh can buy a lot of luxuries. Hirendra Barua, a Senior Captain at a low-cost airline in the country, had all that. A BMW car, flat in a posh colony in Mumbai and business class tickets for family on international holidays.

But in May, Barua got a shock when the airline said it was restructuring his salary. Now he would get a gross monthly salary of Rs 1.25 lakh, which could increase as much as his earlier pay, but it depended on the flying hours.

"Though the airline had resumed services after May 25, when domestic flights re-started across the country, I have flown only one day till now. I don't see myself flying more than 30 to 40 hours a month," says Barua ruefully.

The lower flying time, as compared to 70 hours earlier, would mean that the senior pilot's pay could come down to as low as Rs 2.6 lakh a month. That, says Barua, would be barely enough to meet the EMI payments on the loans he has taken. Though he has savings that will be enough to meet monthly expenses till the end of the year, the aviator wonders if the aviation sector will bounce back by then.

Across airlines, senior pilots like Barua, have seen a dramatic cut in their pay scales. While those in IndiGo, the largest airline in the country, may see a trim of about 40 percent, their counterparts in GoAir have had to suffer a heavier cut of 65 percent. 

Not that others have been spared. Pilots who had moved companies recently, are facing a tough time. And many of these are from Jet Airways, which had suspended operations in April 2019.

Many of these pilots, who were undergoing training, have seen their job terms getting tweaked, resulting in lower pays and allowances. For instance, at IndiGo, these pilots will see a cut of 50 percent in their salaries and a drastic reduction in flying hours. 

"I know of Jet Airways pilots who had joined airlines in the Philippines, South Korea and Turkey. All of them have either been terminated from their jobs, or sent on leave without pay," says a senior pilot who himself was earlier flying for the Naresh Goyal-founded carrier. "Worse is that the pilots are stuck in these countries because of travel restrictions, and can't even get back home," he added.

While these were the experienced aviators who are undergoing training, there are also new recruits who had joined fresh from flying schools. For these young pilots the disruption caused by COVID-19 is especially bad because most of them would have taken loans to pay for the high fees at flying schools.

The fee, industry executives point out, range from Rs 35 to Rs 50 lakh. "While they need jobs make up for that, many even have to pay further to land a job at an airline," says a senior executive from the industry.

"The new recruits have to pay Rs 35 lakh to land a job at an airline. The airlines charge this to cover training costs," says a pilot, who didn't want to be named.

This was not so till the 2008 meltdown. "Before 2008, the company would pay for all the costs, and in return the recruits would sign a bound of three to five years. Not anymore," adds another senior pilot.

Remaining jobless, for a long time, is a prospect that many pilots in the industry have to contend with. "I am not an expert but it may take a few years for aviation to get back to current strength. Isn't it?" asks a worried pilot.

The new dynamics
It's not that pilots in the industry haven't faced uncertain times before. Through the years, every time an airline went bust, hundreds of pilots would be in the market looking for jobs. Jet Airways, which continues to search for a new buyer, had 1,600 pilots on its rolls.

But pilots remained a prized possession for airlines, many of whom have been fast expanding their fleet in the last few years. IndiGo was adding one aircraft a week. Each aircraft, depending on its type and the operations of the airline, needs anywhere between three to 10 pilots.

COVID-19 though has not just grounded most of these aircraft, but has also disrupted the plans of all airlines.

Though the carriers have resumed operations from May 25 - after being off air for two months, all of them are on a truncated schedule. IndiGo, which has the largest fleet, has said that it's operating at 20 percent of its summer schedule. It plans to ramp this up to 30 percent, and then up to 60 percent in the coming quarters. But there is no clear timeline.

This means a large proportion of the 650 commercial aircraft that India has will remain on the ground for the foreseeable future. Aviation advisory firm CAPA India has said about 250 planes will be surplus.

This eventually means, a lot of pilots will also remain surplus.

It's market forces at play, Shakti Lumba, an aviation veteran and former Executive Director, Airline Operations (Alliance Air), and Vice President, Ops (IndiGo), told Moneycontrol in an earlier interaction, on salary cuts.

"Market forces decide everything. Earlier, when demand exceeded supply, it resulted in unreasonably sky high salaries for pilots. Now the same market forces are effecting aviation adversely, including supply of pilots  outstripping demand, resulting in salaries reducing to more reasonable levels," he said.

"Besides pilots, all employment in aviation sector related to market supply and demand will see downward trend in salaries," Lumba added.

CAPA India has said that 30 percent of aviation jobs in the country will become redundant.

Voicing dissent
A pay cut is an unkind act and can evoke a varied amount of emotion, from sadness to anger. A pay cut of over 65 percent, not surprisingly, can result in dissent and revolt.

Industry has been abuzz with instances of pilots not reporting to duty as a sign of protest. "It's as much about the steep pay cuts, as it is to also work in risky environment," says a senior pilot. Reports say at least five pilots in Air India have tested positive for COVID-19.

A pilot in GoAir, says a report in The Times of India, shot off an angry letter to the management after salaries were revised. "This betrayal will be remembered...trust, transparency no longer exists," said the letter.