NEW DELHI: Air India has ordered 34 trainer aircraft — 31 single-engine aircraft from Piper Aircraft in the United States and 3 twin-engine aircraft from Diamond Aircraft in Austria — for its upcoming flying training organization (FTO) at Maharashtra’s Amravati.
AI aims to have this FTO ready by mid-2025 and make it the biggest flying school in south Asia to meet India’s future pilot requirement given the massive orders placed by the Tata Group airline and other carriers here. Delivery of the trainer aircraft will begin next year and AI plans to graduate 180 commercial pilots every year from the upcoming flying school.
“The new FTO is a strategic move to exponentially expand our training infrastructure and our commitment to building a self-reliant ecosystem of qualified pilots for both Air India and the Indian aviation industry. With this order of 34 trainer aircraft to support South Asia’s largest FTO, 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,” said Sunil Bhaskaran, AI aviation academy director.
AI has already opened its new aviation training academy, spread over six lakh sq ft — the largest in South Asia — in Gurugram. It is also the first airline in India to announce the setting up of an FTO. Spread over 10 acres, the upcoming Amravati FTO will have digitally enabled classrooms, hostels, a digitised operations center, and its own maintenance facility. The focus will be on maintaining “high safety standards.” The trainer aircraft are equipped with glass cockpits, G1000 avionics systems and Jet A1 engines.