Airbus Partners With Air India, Unveils Pilot Training Centre

EE News Desk Jan 18, 2024

Airbus has entered a 50:50 joint venture with Air India to unveil a pilot training centre in Gurugram, Haryana.

The Tata Airbus Training Centre will offer A320 and A350 flight training to 5,000 new pilots over 10 years. The 3,300 sq. mt. centre will be equipped with 10 Full Flight Simulators (FFS), flight training classrooms and briefing and debriefing rooms as part of the complete Airbus Flight Training Device setup.

The training centre is due to be operational starting early 2025 with the initial installation of four A320 FFS. The centre will offer courses approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Airbus has also partnered with GMR Aero Technic to offer Aircraft Maintenance Engineering training courses at the latter’s facility in Hyderabad. Airbus will provide training material such as trainee handbooks, examination database, online access to Airbus customised training modules and Airbus Competence Training (ACT) for the academy media package. Airbus will also train GMR instructors and provide a continual assessment of the training centre.

“As the fastest expanding aviation market in the world, India will need 41,000 pilots and 47,000 technicians in the next 20 years to support this growth. The pilot training centre with Air India and the maintenance training partnership with GMR are a testament to Airbus’ commitment to developing human capital. Airbus is directly investing and operating training capabilities to ensure that the growth of the Indian aviation industry is accompanied by adequate skilled manpower that is readily available,” said Rémi Maillard, President and Managing Director, Airbus India and South Asia.

The latest announcements are part of Airbus’ ambition to develop a holistic ecosystem in India, where the company is expanding its industrial footprint with aircraft assembly, component manufacturing, engineering design and development, MRO support, pilot and maintenance training as well as academic collaboration to foster human capital.

Airbus is also collaborating with the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur and Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, to groom talent for the Indian aerospace sector.