Skyward Journeys: Blue-Collar Workers Transform Indian Travel

Love Kush, a construction worker from Uttar Pradesh, exemplifies a shift in India's economy where companies now fly skilled blue-collar workers across the country due to a demand for specialized skills. This trend challenges traditional class boundaries, reflecting broader changes in Asia's third-largest economy.

Love Kush, a 19-year-old from Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, is experiencing air travel for only the second time in his life, as he prepares to report for duty in Bengaluru. As a part of India's growing demand for specialized blue-collar skills, his story reflects significant changes in the economy.

Kush, who previously relied on train or road travel, has become valuable enough due to his shuttering skills that his employer now flies him across the country. This mirrors a broader transformation in India's infrastructure sector, where shortages of skilled labor drive significant economic shifts.

Accompanied by his colleagues, all first-time flyers, Kush embodies a shift in class dynamics as skilled laborers take to the skies. Their inexperience with air travel is evident, yet their journey signifies a major change in India's evolving economy, offering new mobility and benefits for blue-collar workers.

(With inputs from agencies.)