Air India brings new policy, now pilots can fly after retirement

India's flag carrier, Air India, announced a new policy wherein the airline would give an extension of service to its selected pilots on a contract basis for five years after retirement. This contract can be extended till the age of 65 years.

Air India's pilots currently retire at the age of 58. The company has made a policy to extend service to pilots even after retirement keeping the increasing number of aircraft in its fleet in mind.

"Considering the future expansion plans for our fleet, it is imperative to meet our workforce requirement for pilots. Allowing pilots to fly till the age of 65 is a practice followed by most airlines in the industry. To meet our requirement, it is proposed to retain our current trained pilots at Air India post-retirement on a contractual basis for 5 years extendable to 65 years," according to the Air India circular.

Air India has decided to constitute a committee comprising of the functional representatives of HR, Operations and Flight Safety to examine the eligibility of pilots retiring in the next two years.

"The committee will be responsible for reviewing the past records of the pilots with respect to discipline, flight safety and vigilance. Post the review, the committee will recommend the shortlisted names to the Chief Human Resources Officer for issuing them post-retirement contract. One year prior to the pilots' retirement, they will be issued a letter of intent for their post-retirement engagement," said the company.

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