Toulouse, France-based Airbus is setting up the Airbus India Training Center, a greenfield training facility at Aerocity, New Delhi, to support India’s growing need for Airbus pilots and maintenance engineers. The 75,347 square foot facility will be built in modules to become operational by the end of 2018 with two A320 full flight simulators, increasing to four and potentially to six simulators at the right time.
India is the fastest growing domestic aviation market in the world and is expected to grow at an annualized 9.3 percent over the next 20 years, outpacing the world average of 4.6 percent. The number of trips per capita in India is expected to increase four times by 2035. Airbus forecasts a requirement for at least 1,600 new passenger and freight aircraft by this period, requiring over 24,000 new pilots and maintenance engineers, reports the Media India Group.
Tom Enders, CEO, Airbus said, “We have only scratched the surface when it comes to the growth of civil aviation in India. This training center will be the first such facility fully owned by us in Asia. It is a symbol of our enduring partnership with this country.”
