Tata Group-owned Air India has announced plans to establish a training institute in Amravati, Maharashtra, aiming to train 180 commercial pilots annually. The DGCA-licensed Flight Training Organisation (FTO) will be located at Belora Airport and is expected to be the largest institute of its kind in South Asia. The institute is set to become operational in the first quarter of the next financial year.
This facility will be the first of its kind established by any Indian airline in the country. It will be equipped with 31 single-engine aircraft and three twin-engine aircraft for training purposes. Air India has secured a 30-year tender from the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) to establish and operate the facility.
According to Campbell Wilson, Managing Director and CEO at Air India, “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 becoming pilots.” He further stated that the young pilots trained at this facility will contribute to Air India’s goal of becoming a world-class airline as it progresses in its transformation journey.
The 10-acre facility will include digitally-enabled classrooms, hostels at par with global academies, a digitized operation center, and a maintenance unit. Sunil Bhaskaran, Director of Aviation Academy at Air India, added that the FTO aims to offer aspiring pilots the opportunity to undergo training with a world-class curriculum at par with the best global institutions. The FTO is expected to be operational by the first quarter of FY26.