Airbus opens pilot training centre in Gurugram

Global aerospace major Airbus on Wednesday opened its training centre for commercial pilots and maintenance engineers at Haryana's Gurugram in the National Capital Region (NCR).

"Through the centre, we aim to train 8,000 commercial pilots and 2,000 maintenance engineers over the next 10 years," an Airbus spokesperson told IANS at the Aero India air show.

However, the spokesperson did not disclose the investment being made by the company in the training centre.

The centre includes an A320 simulator for full-flight simulation and programmes on aircraft procedure training, computer-based classroom training and standard pilot transition training, the company said in a statement.

It also has an 'Upgrade to Command' course to improve the skills of the co-pilots.

The facility will complement Airbus India's training centre in Bengaluru which has trained over 4,500 maintenance engineers since its inception in 2007, the statement said.

"Providing a training infrastructure to support our customers' businesses is a priority for us," said Airbus India and South Asia President Anand E. Stanley in the statement.

The aerospace major assessed that India will need 25,000 additional pilots over the next 20 years to keep pace with the growing commercial aviation industry.

"Over 500,000 additional pilots will be required worldwide over the next 20 years," it added.

--IANS

bha/arm/ab