First Flying Training Organisation For North Eastern Region Inaugurated In Assam's Lilabari

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday (12 April) inaugurated the first Flying Training Organization (FTO) for North Eastern Region in Assam's Lilabari.

Lilabari is among the nine FTOs to be established in five airports in India by June 2022 includes Belagavi and Kalaburagi in Karnataka, Jalgaon in Maharashtra and Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh.

Redbird Aviation has won the right to establish the FTO at Lilabari, the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a release.

Airports Authority of India has leased land for the FTO and facilitated statutory approvals from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Safety (BCAS), the ministry said.

With the establishment of these FTOs, India will aim to become a global hub for pilot training.

Currently, at Lilabari, Redbird Aviation has stationed two aircraft for flying training - Tecnam P2008JC Single Engine and Tecnam P2006T Multi-engine -which would eventually be increased to five by year end.

In Lilabari FTO, ground classes (online and offline), practical flying training, drone flying training and simulator training on Alsim Level-5 Simulator and A320 fixed base simulator will take place for single batch of 10 students which will be increased to 20.

The process for enrolment in the FTO will take place with an online entrance exam which is conducted every few months.

Applicants need to be above 18 years of age and should have completed their 12th board exams with English, Physics and Maths.

After completing their training, students can be employed in Airlines, Private charter services, Air ambulances, Government pilot jobs, Cargo/freighter services.

Speaking on the occasion, Scindia said, “Assam is becoming the growth engine of Northeast. Lilabari Airport was inaugurated by Former Prime Minister Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the year 2003-2004, and today it is being given due importance by opening of the first FTO in Northeast".

"With the opening of this FTO, the youth of North East will get the opportunity to attain Vidya (Knowledge) and Gati (Speed). 40 per cent of our pilots get trained aboard which results in the loss of Rs 500 crore of foreign exchange. To reduce this, we have decided to open up nine new FTO by this year and in the next stage, 15 new FTOs will be established, taking the current number of FTOs in India from 34 to 58," he added.