New Flying Institutes: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has approved two new flying training organisations (FTOs), one in Gujarat and the other in Madhya Pradesh, in the backdrop of two two-major airlines having ordered 1,000 aircrafts.

“The DGCA has granted approvals to two FTOs, Dunes Aviation Academy, Bhavnagar and Indian Flying Academy, Khajuraho, taking the total number of FTOs in India to 36, giving a fillip to enhancing capacity for training more ab-initio pilots within India,” as per an DGCA statement.

Previous year, Air India finalised its $70-billion deal to acquire 470 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, meanwhile IndiGo has made an announced ordering 500-plane order from Airbus.

Of the 34 functional flying schools in India, only the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) in Amethi is under the central government.

There are 8 more institutions under the state government, and 25 are owned by the private sector.

Pilot Shortage

A recent estimate by the aviation consultancy, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, said Indian scheduled airlines are likely to operate a fleet of 1,400 aircraft by 2030 and will require 10,900 more pilots, up from the existing strength of 8,500 pilots, citing media reports.

“The primary concern is the availability of pilots. India has been facing a shortage of trained and experienced pilots for several years. Airlines in India have traditionally relied on expatriate pilots to fill this gap, but the goal has been to develop a strong pipeline of Indian pilots.

This is why FTOs have been introduced and are being focused on by the government,” a former ministry official said, according to media reports.

“The growth of the Indian aviation industry is promising and it comes with the challenge of sourcing and training adequate personnel, particularly pilots,” the official said, citing media reports.