Air India to Roll Out Largest Pilot Training School, Orders 34 Trainer Aircraft

Naina Jaggi

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20-12-2024

4 min read

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Air India to Roll Out Largest Pilot Training School, Orders 34 Trainer Aircraft

In a mega advancement for the aviation sector, Air India is all geared up to launch itslargest aviation training center.The airline claims that they are going to establish South Asia’s largestFlying Training Organization (FTO)at Amravati, Maharashtra. Working on their project, Air India recently placed an order for 34aircraft trainersfrom the USA.

Flying Training Organization by Air India

The FTO is coming up at Amravati’s Belora airport, spanning 10 acres of land. The organization will feature digitally equipped classrooms, hostels, a digitized operations center, and a dedicated maintenance facility.

The FTO marks a significant step in Air Indias efforts to strengthen its training infrastructure under the Vihaan.AI transformation program, while developing a steady pipeline of pilots to support its expanding fleet and achieve self-reliance. Alongside this, the training center will target to train 180 commercial pilots per year.

Air India Order 34 Trainers

The latest updates from the airline noted that to support the establishment of the organization, the airline has placed an order of 34 aircraft trainers. Additionally, the airline also ordered 31 single-engine aircraft from US based Piper Aircraft and 3 twin-engine aircraft from Diamond Aircraft in Austria.

What will the Trainer Aircraft Include?

The trainer aircraft expected to be delivered in 2025, will be equipped with glass cockpits, G1000 avionics systems, and Jet A1 engines, providing cutting-edge training to future pilots.

Sunil Bhaskaran, Director, Aviation Academy, Air India. stated, “The new FTO is a strategic step to significantly expand our training infrastructure and reinforce our commitment to creating a self-reliant ecosystem of qualified pilots for Air India and the Indian aviation industry. With the order of 34 trainer aircraft to support South Asias largest Flying Training Organisation, we are proud to contribute to building the aviation infrastructure India needs as one of the worlds fastest-growing aviation markets and align with the governments vision for an Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

Earlier in December, the airline company ordered 100 Airbus Aircraft and 470 aircraft order with Boeing and Airbus in 2023. The order included 10 wide-body A350-900 aircraft and 90 narrow-body A320 family aircraft. In response to this, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons and Air India said, “With India’s passenger growth leading globally, improving infrastructure, and a young, aspirational population, Air India sees a clear need to expand its fleet beyond the 470 aircraft ordered last year.”