Airbus is setting up Asia’s first fully owned training facility in Aerocity, New Delhi, India to support the country’s growing need for Airbus aircraft pilots and maintenance engineers. The ground-breaking for the Airbus India Training Centre was performed by P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Hon’ble Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Tom Enders, CEO, Airbus in the presence of Jayant Sinha, Hon’ble Minister of State for Civil Aviation.
India is one of the fastest budding domestic aviation market globally and is expected to continue to grow at an annualised 9.3 percent over the next 20 years. The number of trips per capita in India is estimated to quadruple by 2035 due to a mixture of economic and demographic factors.
To accommodate to this huge demand, Airbus forecasts a necessity for at least 1,600 new passenger and freighter aircraft by 2035. The subsequent rise in Indian in-service aircraft fleet will lead to an additional need for over 24,000 new pilots and maintenance engineers.
“India’s rapidly growing passenger aircraft fleet must be matched by adequate availability of skilled pilots and maintenance engineers. Airbus’ pilot and maintenance engineering training center is the type of facility which will help augment the talent pool of such personnel and thus be a force multiplier for the Indian aviation sector,” commented P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Hon’ble Union Minister of Civil Aviation.
“We have only scratched the surface when it comes to the growth of civil aviation in India. This training centre will be the first such facility fully owned by us in Asia. It is a symbol of our enduring partnership with this country,” stated Tom Enders, CEO, Airbus.
The almost 7000 m2 Airbus India Training Centre is expected to be operational by the end of 2018 with two A320 full flight simulators, increasing to four and potentially to six simulators in due course. It will start with an opening capacity to train over 800 pilots and 200 maintenance engineers yearly.
The centre will cater mainly to Airbus operators in India and the region. Airbus has more than 250 aircraft in service in India and over 570 are on order by Indian airlines.
Photo caption: P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Hon’ble Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Tom Enders, CEO, Airbus
