Airbus and Air India to Jointly Set Up Advanced Pilot Training Centre in India

Indian commercial airline Air India and French aircraft manufacturer Airbus are all set to launch an advanced pilot training centre at the Air India Training Academy in Gurugram, India. The joint initiative aims to train more than five thousand pilots over the next decade to assist in the growth of commercial aviation in India. 

The inauguration of the center was done by Rammohan Naidu, the Minister of Civil Aviation, in the presence of Christian Scherer, CEO of Commercial Aircraft, Airbus. The MD and CEO of Air India, Campbell Wilson was also present along with some other dignitaries from Tata Group, Air India and Airbus. 

Juergen Westermeier, the President and Managing Director of Airbus India and South Asia revealed in a statement that this centre represents more than a joint venture, it is an investment that will help Indian aerospace industry grow multifold. 

The pilot training centre is a large facility that spans across 12,000 sq mt and it is fully equipped with 10 full flight simulators and has multiple advanced classrooms and briefing rooms.

Campbell also made a statement about how Air India is in an expansion mode with 570 new aircraft on order and this new pilot training centre that has been set up in Gurugram will help train and upskill pilots in the coming years. 

Air India is also working to develop the largest Flying Training Organisation in South Asia at Amravati in Maharashtra, India. In addition to this, a new Basic Maintenance Training Organization (BMTO) is also coming up near Air India’s new Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Bengaluru. This facility is expection to be operational in FY27. It aims to offer a two-year integrated Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (AME) program certified by DGCA followed by two years of practical on-job training at the MRO.