Airbus has inaugurated a world-class training centre for commercial pilots and maintenance engineers near Delhi (India), as part of its continuing efforts to support the ‘exponential growth’ of the civil aviation sector in the
country.

Airbus (www.airbus.com) forecasts a need for more than 25,000 new pilots in India over the next 20 years, to keep pace with the current double-digit growth in its commercial aviation industry.

The training centre incorporates an A320 flight simulator for full-flight simulation, along with programmes on aircraft procedure training, computer-based classroom training, and standard pilot transition training, including an Upgrade to Command course aimed at “improving skills and maturity of co-pilots as they transition to commandership”.

The facility will complement Airbus India’s training centre in Bengaluru, which has trained more than 4,500 maintenance engineers since its inception in 2007.

Anand Stanley, president and managing director of Airbus India & South Asia, said: “Providing a robust training infrastructure to support our customers’ businesses is a priority for us.

"One pillar of our customer services mission is proximity to the customer, and another one is safety. In that respect, having a training centre located in the country is proof of our commitment towards both.”

Globally, Airbus has a comprehensive and highly customised training programme for pilots, maintenance crew and engineers.

The company says this training facility in India is another testament to its focus on making the most advanced training technologies accessible to the sub-continent, while creating a highly skilled workforce in line with the government’s ‘Skill India’ initiative.