With an increasing number of orders from India for new passenger liners (570 aircrafts on order, 250 flying), Airbus, on Friday, announced setting up a greenfield training facility at Aerocity, New Delhi, to support a growing need for trained pilots and maintenance engineers.
The proposed facility near Terminal 3 was inaugurated on Friday morning by Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in the presence of Jayant Sinha and top brass from Airbus and GMR.
"There is a talent crunch in India as far as aviation is concerned. There is a severe deficit of trained personnel. Airbus’ pilot and maintenance engineering training centre is the kind of facility which will augment the talent pool of such personnel and be a force multiplier for the Indian aviation sector," said Raju, while inaugurating Airbus India Training Centre.
The facility will be constructed on 1.1 acre land in Aerocity, provided at the vicinity of T3, by GMR-led consortium Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL). France-based Airbus will set up India’s first full-flight simulator to address the growing demand of trained pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers.
Airbus will also establish its India headquarters within the same complex. The land license agreement was signed a day earlier between DIAL and Airbus India for a period till 31st March, 2036.
In a statement, DIAL said it has received the initial security deposit and airport development charges and will also receive an annual license fee from this deal.
Airbus has found a growing number of clientele among Indian airlines like Air India, Indigo and Vistara, for whom Delhi is a key base. Though the facility itself is likely to start from the end of 2018, it received its first client today in Vistara Airlines that signed a five year training contract with the upcoming institute.
“This is an unique opportunity for us to have trained pilots and maintenance engineers for our increasingly growing fleet of Airbus planes. The five-year contract gives us the flexibility to train pilots flying other aircrafts as well,” said Phee Teik Yeoh, Air Vistara, CEO.
"The Terminal district of Delhi Aerocity will see development of over two million square feet. This is the second significant transaction in Delhi Aerocity after the recent deal signed with Bharti Realty Holdings Limited. DIAL is putting together a plan for development of infrastructure of public amenities at Aerocity in an effort to increase the velocity of land monetisation," said a DIAL spokesperson.
Aviation minister Raju said that Airbus should also think of building a MRO (maintenance and repair) facility in India as this would create employment opportunities.
"We have only scratched the surface when it comes to growth in civil aviation in India. This training facility will be the first such in Asia fully owned by us," said Tom Enders, CEO, Airbus.
According to him, India is the fastest growing domestic aviation market in the world and is expected to continue to grow at an annual 9.3 per cent over the next 20 years, outpacing the world average of 4.6 per cent.
Airbus forecasts a requirement for at least 1,600 new passenger and freighter aircrafts by 2035. The consequent increase in Indian in-service aircraft fleet, it believes, can lead to an accompanying need for over 24,000 new pilots and maintenance engineers.
The Airbus India Training Centre will become 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 initial capacity to train over 800 pilots and 200 maintenance engineers—catering primarily to Airbus operators in India and the region.
Global airlines body IATA had earlier suggested that the number of trips per capita in India is expected to quadruple by 2035 due to a combination of economic and demographic factors.
