Nagpur: The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) in collaboration with Air India is all set to establish the largest Flying Training Organization in South Asia at Amravati’s Bellora airport in Maharashtra. Equipped with world class flying infrastructure built by MADC, Air India aspires to operationalize the project with flying operations to start by April-May 2025 and be fully functional by mid-2026. This would lead to the major transformation in the aviation industry of India plagued by pilot shortages. This DGCA(Director General of Civil Aviation ) licensed FTO, (Flying Training Organization) will also be the first FTO established by any airline in India!
A MOU was signed to this effect between Air India and MADC for this collaborative venture and subsequently a high powered team from Air India led by Mr Sunil Bhaskaran, Director Aviation Academy, Air India, were in Amravati sketching the ground level plans of this project. The project unfolds the collective initiative of MADC and Air India commits to graduate 180 commercial pilots every year through 31 single engine and three twin engine aircrafts to experience a phenomenal training program and will be logging 36,000+ flight hours each year, the highest by any Indian FTO.
On its way to develop a state-of-the-art training institute at Amravati over 10 acres for students, with digitally-enabled classrooms, hostels equipped with global academic standards, a digitized operations centre, and its own maintenance facility to elevate operational efficiency, the project will enable the aspiring pilots to embark on a journey towards fulfilling their dreams of becoming skilled aviators. The FTO’s comprehensive training curriculum will encompass theoretical classes, as well as dynamic practical flight experience, ensuring top of the line education to the youth of the country.
Spearheading the project, Ms Swati Pandey, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, MADC, said that, the project will not only boost the economic prospects of Vidharbha and give a fillip to the aviation sector in Maharashtra but also create multifarious scopes of employment from allied sectors. MADC will open its state-of-the-art aviation facilities with night flying and instrumental landing capabilities. This is expected to be a job creator with more than 3000+ jobs in the aviation sector leading to the overall prosperity of the region. So in a couple of years , many people would be flying in aircrafts flown by pilots trained in Amravti
The unique features of the project will encompass the following aspects;
1. Visibility for the flight training academy is better than most parts of India. More than 300 days of clean visibility for flying in Amravati.
2. Availability of Optimal air space.
3. World class runway built by MADC.
4. Airport is enabled with instrument approach landing that will help in improving training standards.
5. The airport is equipped with night landing capabilities making Maharashtra aviation infrastructure provided by MADC in Amravati is one of the best for the young aspiring pilots.
6. Amravati Airport is one of the airports covered in UDAN-RCS scheme in Maharashtra, which is being developed by MADC and is expected to be operationalized shortly with an Alliance air route connecting Amravati to the capital city of Mumbai.
MADC: The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), constituted in the year 2002 by Government of Maharashtra (GoM), with a special purpose to develop Aviation Infrastructure in the State of Maharashtra.
