Air India to set up South Asia’s largest flying training firm in Maharashtra, 180 commercial pilots to graduate every year
This FTO will strengthen the available pilot training capacity in India.
GURUGRAM: Air India is setting up South Asia’s largest Flying Training Organisation (FTO) at Amravati in Maharashtra as part of an initiative by the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC).
This FTO will strengthen the available pilot training capacity in India.
Pilot training facility at Amravati in Maharashtra will be operational in Q1 FY26 |
Will have 31 single-engine and three twin-engine aircraft for training |
This DGCA-licensed FTO, to come up on 10 acres, in Amravati, valid for a 30-year period |
The DGCA-licensed FTO at Amravati’s Belora airport will be operational by Q1 FY26 and will target to graduate 180 commercial pilots every year.
The Air India FTO, the first by any Indian airline in the country, will have 31 single-engine aircraft and 3 twin-engine aircraft for training, as per a release.
Air India has been awarded a tender by the MADC to establish and operate this DGCA-licensed FTO in Amravati for a period of 30 years.
Campbell Wilson, MD-CEO, Air India, said: “The young pilots coming out of this FTO will fuel Air India’s ambition of becoming a world-class airline, as it moves ahead in its transformation journey.”
“We are delighted to be playing a part in building the aviation infrastructure India needs as one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets,” said Sunil Bhaskaran, director, Aviation Academy, Air India.
“This collaborative initiative between MADC and Air India will not only boost the economy of Maharashtra by focusing on over 3,000 new employment opportunities within the aviation sector, but also create employment in multifarious allied activities in skilling, technical and small entrepreneurial ventures culminating in an impressive contribution of over Rs 1,000 crore to the state’s GDP over the next decade,” said Swati Pandey, vice CMD, MADC.
At the FTO in Amravati, Air India will develop the training institute over 10 acres, with digitally enabled classrooms, hostels at par with global academies, a digitised operations centre, and its own maintenance facility to elevate operational efficiency, it added.
Earlier this year, Air India announced its new training academy, spread over 600,000 sq ft, the largest in S Asia, in Gurugram.