10 per cent jobs lost in commercial flight sector: Jyotiraditya Scindia

"The total job loss in airlines, airports, ground handling and air cargo sector is around 19,200. The job loss is around 10% of the total jobs (around 1.9 lakh) in these sectors. The government has held discussions with industry participants and stakeholders to address the challenges facing the industry," stated Scindia in a written reply.

New Delhi: Around 10 percent of the total jobs in airlines, airports, ground handling, and air cargo sectors were lost, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said in Rajya Sabha on Monday, replying to questions regarding job losses in the last three years in private sector companies engaged in carrier service, operation, and maintenance of airports. "The total job loss in airlines, airports, ground handling and air cargo sector is around 19,200. The job loss is around 10% of the total jobs (around 1.9 lakh) in these sectors. The government has held discussions with industry participants and stakeholders to address the challenges facing the industry," stated Scindia in a written reply.

According to the statistics provided by the Minister, the total number of airline employees in India has declined from around 74,800 as of 31st March 2020 to around 65,600 as of 31st December 2021. The number of employees in the airport sector declined from around 73,400 as on 31st March 2020 to around 65,700 as on 31st December 2021. As for the ground handling sector, the total number of employees declined from around 30,800 as of 31st March 2020 to around 27,600 as of 31st December 2021. The cargo sector, however, witnessed an increase in the number of employees which went up from around 9,600 as on 31st March 2020 to around 10,500 as on 31st December 2021.

"Air traffic during 2020-21 witnessed a massive fall of 66% over the previous year due to the Covid pandemic. During the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted the revenue streams of businesses including the aviation sector. Under normal circumstances, airfares are neither established nor regulated by the government. However, due to the unprecedented circumstances, fare bands with upper and lower limits were introduced by the government as a special measure. The fare bands serve the dual purpose of protecting the interests of the travelers as well as of the airlines," stated Scindia.