Air India to set up flying institute in Maharashtra to train 180 commercial pilots annually

Air India on Monday said it is setting up a flying training organisation (FTO) in Amravati, Maharashtra, to generate pilots for the planes it and other carriers are going to receive during the next several years.

This makes Air India the first airline to have its own FTO in India. "The DGCA-licensed FTO at Amravati’s Belora airport will be operational by the first quarter of 2025-26 (FY26) and will aim to graduate 180 commercial pilots every year," it mentioned.

To meet the growing demand in the country's air travel market, Indian carriers have made four significant aircraft orders since last year. In February 2023, the Tata-run Air India Group placed an order for 470 planes: 250 with Airbus and 220 with American planemaker Boeing. In June 2023, IndiGo made the world's largest aircraft order by signing a deal for 500 A320neo family planes from Airbus. In January 2024, the new airline Akasa Air placed an order for 150 B737 Max aircraft with Boeing. Three months later, IndiGo placed an order with Airbus for 30 A350-900 widebody aircraft.