As India looks to expand the aviation sector, the focus on Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) and the resultant pilot output assumes significance as hundreds of aircraft are expected to be inducted in the years ahead. To this end, the Ministry of Civil Aviation recently awarded letters of intent for the establishment of 11 FTOs across seven Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports.

Forty-one Flying Training Organisations are currently operating from 63 flying bases across the country. With the addition of these 11 new FTOs across seven AAI airports, India’s annual pilot training capacity is expected to increase by 750 cadets per year, providing a substantial boost to the domestic training ecosystem and operational utilization.