Air India Flying School: Air India is reportedly going to start a flying school in Amravati, Maharashtra. This flying school is expected to train 180 pilots every year. Although this school will initially meet internal requirements, the Tata Group, which owns the airline, also sees the possibility of meeting external needs in the future.
According to a report by ET, aspiring pilots who have no prior flying experience will be able to join this full-time academy. This will also pave the way for them to enter the cockpit of Air India after completing the training program. The report quoted a source as saying that Air India wants to control the supply of next-generation pilots. The airline wants to improve the quality of training in the country.
Air India has selected around 30 single-engine and 4 multi-engine aircraft from US company Piper and European manufacturer Diamond for its training fleet, the report said.
The Indian government is very active in promoting commercial pilot training programs within the country and is constantly encouraging it. Since there was no such training school in India before, currently more than 40% of the students want to get training abroad, which can cost around Rs 1.5-2 crore. But when flying schools are started in the country itself, students will be able to get training at a lower cost and they will not be forced to go abroad.
Training Centre Started in Gurugram
Meanwhile, the airline has set up its own training centre in Gurugram in partnership with Airbus and US company L3 Harris, which has 6 simulators. Similarly, other airlines like IndiGo and SpiceJet also have branded training programmes affiliated with independent flying schools in India and abroad.
Aspiring pilots must undergo initial training to obtain a license, but aircraft such as the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 also require type-rated training as well as the necessary license endorsement. In addition, the pilot needs to undergo annual recurrent training to maintain the license endorsement.
Demand for Pilots is Going to Increase
With the acquisition of Air India by the Tata Group, the airline has ordered 470 aircraft, and CEO Campbell Wilson has said that they will introduce a new aircraft every 6 days in 2024. The domestic demand will be met first by the pilots coming out of this flying school started by the Tata Group. In the future, they will be used to meet external needs.
The massive aircraft orders placed by Indian airlines in recent times will increase the demand for flight simulation centres as airlines rush to train their pilots. IndiGo, Air India and Akasa have collectively ordered about 1,250 aircraft for delivery over the next ten years. As the number of aircraft in the country increases, the demand for pilots and flying training centres will also increase.
