Mumbai: Air India and Airbus inaugurated an advanced pilot training center at the Air India Aviation Training Academy in Haryana’s Gurugram. The facility aims to train more than 5,000 new pilots for the Airbus A320 and A350 aircraft families over the next decade to support the exponential growth of commercial aviation in India.
On Tuesday, civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu inaugurated Air India and Airbus’ advanced pilot training hub, a 50:50 joint venture facility. The new 12,000 sq.mt. center is designed to train pilots for the Airbus A320 and A350 aircraft families with Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approved courses.
The training hub is equipped with 10 full flight simulators (FFSs), along with advanced classrooms and briefing rooms. While two FFS for A320 are already operational at the centre, the training centre will install six A320 FFS and two A350 FFS progressively. The airline aims to consolidate its pilot training infrastructure from across the country into the Aviation Training Academy in Gurugram.
Jürgen Westermeier, president and managing director of Airbus India and South Asia, said, “The inauguration of the training center is a testament to our shared vision for the future of Indian aviation. This is more than a joint venture, it is a strategic investment in the future of the Indian aerospace industry itself. India is a strategic powerhouse for Airbus, and this state-of-the-art facility is a testament to our belief in its immense potential.”
Campbell Wilson, MD and chief executive officer of Air India, said, “The new pilot training centre at our aviation training academy, a part of which is being executed with Airbus, will help train and upskill pilots who will fuel Air India’s ambition of becoming a world-class airline. This facility is a major step forward in our transformation journey and in making Air India and the Indian aviation industry more self-reliant.”
Notably, Air India Aviation Training Academy is South Asia’s biggest aviation training academy. It was set up in 2024 and is currently training over 2,000 aviation professionals every day. It is also in the process of setting up South Asia’s largest Flying Training Organisation (FTO) at Amravati in Maharashtra, with a target to graduate 180 commercial pilots every year.
Air India is also setting up a new basic maintenance training organisation (BMTO) near its new Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Bengaluru that will be operational in FY27. The BMTO will offer a two-year integrated aircraft maintenance engineering (AME) program.
