Pilot Training Academy Opens its First School in India

• Courses will start 18 April
• Students will have an opportunity to join a program that provides a bachelor’s degree in business with their Commercial Pilot License

Airways Aviation Academy has officially opened the first of several planned aviation foundation schools in India. The event was held at The Leela Palace Hotel and attended by leading political & industry figures, the media, prospective students, and parents.

The new school will deliver its bespoke foundation courses as part of the Airways Aviation Airline Pilot Pathway Program starting 18 April 2022  and will provide an opportunity for aspiring aviators interested in beginning their studies close to home.  

Students will benefit from a tailored curriculum, developed, and delivered by industry professionals that provide a meaningful introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of aviation. Students will be assisted through those first critical steps and gain the knowledge required to progress, with confidence, to the practical full flight training phase.  

Qualifying students will also have the opportunity to join a bespoke program that delivers both a bachelor's degree in Business along with their Commercial Pilot License (EASA fATPL or CASA CPL) conducted in English in conjunction with University Partners – Montpellier Business School (MBS) in France and either Griffith University or Southern Cross University in Australia.

“Pilots sit at the very heart of the industry and India is increasingly recognising the importance and imperative to develop its own homegrown as well as an overseas pipeline of well trained and highly skilled graduates to meet the country's rapidly growing domestic and international aviation demands,” said Romy Hawatt – Founder and Chairman of the Airways Aviation Group. “The Indian Government must take the lead in setting the future tone and pace of change. The right top-down vision, along with proper grassroots support, coupled with the determination to get it right will certainly lead to successful outcomes for not only aspiring pilots and other professionals and businesses but indeed for the country over time.”  

Statistics show pilot shortages from past years will continue to compound into an even bigger deficit as the country grapples with ways to address and accommodate the growing demands for air travel and cargo and other related services.  

Vineet Mehra, Managing Director of Airways Aviation India spoke on “the importance of implementing internationally recognised training and safety standards and that bringing the Airways Aviation Group with their first-class training and education systems, processes and pathways is a major step in the right direction.”   

India currently graduates between 800 and 1000 commercial pilots a year against a demand of approximately double this figure.

“Indian airlines have around 800 aircraft combined to cater to the needs of its almost 1.4 billion population and are planning to induct more than 500 new aircraft in the coming few years. In comparison, China operates a fleet of approximately 6800 aircraft for a similar population and with current orders along with the demand for new aircraft in the rise, India could see a massive pilot shortage in the next decade if the pilot training infrastructure does not scale at the same speed as the growth in airlines,” said Maximilian Buerger, Managing Director of AFM.aero – a market intelligence platform in the pilot training industry.

A strong aviation sector is critical in the development of any modern, vibrant society and India must step up to the challenge and rapidly adapt to the changing landscape. With the right policies, the aviation industry will materially contribute to growing the Indian GDP and significantly bettering the lives of its citizens.  

Dr. Jagvinder Singh Virk who is an inspirational community leader with a strong background in International Education and Infrastructure Development suggested the “importance of collaborating with internationally recognised aviation educators like the Airways Aviation group and adopting world’s best practices and standards”.  He was followed by Mr. Hemanth D.P., CEO of APFT and President of ‘The Association of Flight Training Organisations’ echoed the need to partner up with academies and operators and expressed the “urgent need to raise the standard of training and condition of the facilities and fleets of existing Indian flight training organisations if the country is to make meaningful impact on the ground in India.”