Air India to Establish South Asia’s Largest Flying Training Organization in Amravati, Maharashtra

Amravati, 1st July 2024: Air India, the leading global airline of India, is set to establish South Asia’s largest Flying Training Organization (FTO) in Amravati, Maharashtra. This initiative, part of the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), aims to support Air India’s ambitious transformation and enhance the country’s pilot training capacity.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)-licensed FTO will be located at Amravati’s Belora airport and is slated to become operational by the first quarter of FY26. The facility will aim to graduate 180 commercial pilots annually, equipped with 31 single-engine aircraft and three twin-engine aircraft for training purposes.

Air India has secured a 30-year tender from MADC to establish and operate this FTO, marking a significant milestone as the first such venture by an Indian airline.

Campbell Wilson, MD & CEO of Air India, stated, “The FTO at Amravati will be a significant step towards making Indian aviation more self-reliant and offering more opportunities to the youth in India to fulfill their ambitions of flying as pilots. 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.”

Sunil Bhaskaran, Director of Aviation Academy at Air India, added, “The FTO will be operational by Q1 FY26 and offer aspiring pilots an opportunity to undergo training with world-class curricula at par with best-in-class global schools. 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 and to support the government’s vision for an Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

Swati Pandey, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of MADC, remarked, “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. The establishment of South Asia’s largest FTO will certainly encourage students in Maharashtra to pursue careers in aviation, further instilling a deep sense of inspiration and pride for the state of Maharashtra and the Indian citizenry.”

The FTO in Amravati will span 10 acres and feature state-of-the-art training facilities, including digitally enabled classrooms, hostels comparable to global academies, a digitized operations center, and an in-house maintenance facility to ensure high operational efficiency. The training provided will adhere to the highest safety standards and best-in-class practices.

In addition to this new FTO, Air India announced earlier this year its new Training Academy in Gurugram, spread over 600,000 sq ft, the largest in South Asia. This new FTO in Amravati will complement Air India’s ongoing commitment to advancing India’s aviation ecosystem in the years to come.