Govt clears 11 new flying academies, boosts India's pilot training capacity by 750

The government on Wednesday awarded Letters of Intent (LoIs) for setting up 11 new Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) across seven Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports.

The move is expected to raise the country's annual pilot training capacity by 750 cadets.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu handed over the LoIs at a roundtable interaction with existing FTOs and also launched a mobile application for booking Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) training slots.

India currently has 41 FTOs operating from 63 flying bases.

With the addition of the new institutes, the government aims to strengthen domestic pilot training capacity as Indian airlines prepare for rapid fleet expansion.

Addressing the event, Naidu said India has emerged as one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets and requires a strong pipeline of trained aviation professionals to support future growth.

"Indian airlines currently have 1,640 aircraft on order, and nearly 500 aircraft are expected to be inducted over the next five years. Meeting this unprecedented growth requires a strong domestic pipeline of trained aviation professionals," he said.

The minister said six new FTOs have already been established over the past two years, while the number of trainer aircraft has increased from 324 to 385 during the period.

Annual flying hours across the pilot training ecosystem have also risen by 25%, he added.

According to the ministry, the number of Commercial Pilot Licences (CPLs) issued increased from 1,347 in 2024 to 1,652 in 2025, the highest number issued in the last decade. The government expects the figure to rise further in 2026.

Naidu said policy measures such as liberalisation of FTO norms, abolition of airport royalties and rationalisation of land rentals have helped improve the training ecosystem.

Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha said the country is estimated to need 25,000 additional pilots by 2035, which means issuing around 2,500 commercial pilot licences every year.

Indian airlines are to add around 1,640 new aircraft to their fleets in the coming years and out of them, 500 planes are projected to be taken by the carriers in the next 5 years.

This is the "golden phase" of Indian aviation, Sinha said and highlighted various initiatives taken to develop a complete aviation ecosystem in the country.