Amravati’s Belora Airport is set to emerge as a pilot-training hub after receiving approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday for the Air India Flying Training Academy.
The campus was around 95% complete when HT reported on October 26 that Belora’s pilot academy neared completion, with all 34 training aircraft relocated from Nagpur to Amravati. “This is huge news for Amravati. The DGCA has finally issued the Certificate of Approval to the Air India Flying Training Academy at MADC’s Amravati Airport. It is a game changer for our great city.
Deepak Kapoor, vice-chairman and managing director of the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), said the academy was expected to start operations as early as the first week of November. The academy will open up new opportunities for the region while putting Amravati on the country’s aviation map,” Kapoor said. Pankul Mathur, Air India’s director of flight operations, had then said that “certain aspects were still being finalised.
In a statement on Friday, Air India said that the DGCA approval for the academy marks a significant milestone in India’s pilot training capacity and aviation ecosystem, calling it the first such flying training facility established by an Indian airline in the country.
