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Air India has placed an order for 34 trainer aircraft as it prepares to start training cadet pilots at South Asia's largest Flying Training Organisation (FTO) coming up in Amravati, Maharashtra by the second half of 2025, post regulatory approvals.
The order includes 31 single-engine aircraft from Piper Aircraft in the United States and 3 twin-engine aircraft from Diamond Aircraft in Austria. In a statement Air India informed that the FTO is a leap forward in Air India's commitment to bolster its training infrastructure as part of its Vihaan.AI transformation program and cultivate a pipeline of pilots as it expands its fleet, becoming self-reliant. The trainer aircraft, due for delivery starting 2025, are equipped with glass cockpits, G1000 avionics systems and Jet A1 engines that will ensure advanced training for aspiring pilots. The FTO is coming up at Amravati's Belora airport and will target to graduate 180 commercial pilots every year. "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 Flying Training Organisation, 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, Director, Aviation Academy, Air India. As part of its commitment to invest in aviation training, Air India opened its new Aviation Training Academy, spread over 600,000 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 that will complement Air India's commitment to power India's aviation ecosystem in the coming years. At the FTO in Amravati, Air India is developing a state-of-the-art training institute over 10 acres, with digitally enabled classrooms at par with global academies, hostels, a digitized operations center, and its own maintenance facility to elevate operational efficiency. The FTO is curated to deliver best-in-class training with high safety standards. (ANI)
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