Airbus, CAE ink pact for pilot training centre

 Airbus has signed an agreement with CAE Simulator Training on the opening day of India Aviation in Hyderabad, to set up a second Indian pilot and maintenance crew training centre. The centre will be located in Noida near New Delhi.

CAE Simulator Training is a joint venture between InterGlobe and Canada’s flight simulator company CAE.

The centre will be fully operational by 2013, and will have a capacity to train up to 5,000 crews annually, making it one of the biggest training facilities of its type in the region.

Noida is Airbus’ second Indian pilot training facility in addition to the Airbus Training India centre (ATI) which was opened at Bangalore in 2007. The new facility will be spread over a 3.5 acre site and initially house up to six full-flight simulators with a capability to expand to eight simulator bays. Advanced training technology such as CAE Simfinity multimedia classrooms, computer-based training and brief/debrief facilities will be used.

The focus of the new Delhi training centre will be to provide “wet” and “dry” type-rating, recurrent, conversion and jet indoctrination training for commercial aircraft pilots. Programs will also be offered for maintenance technicians
Dr Kiran Rao, Airbus Executive Vice President sales and President Airbus India, said, “India remains one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world and in the long terms requires more aircraft and additional pilots and maintenance crews to fly them.”

Rahul Bhatia, Group Managing Director, InterGlobe, said, “We are confident that in due course this facility will emerge as a centre of excellence for not just in India but in South Asia offering access to world-class training technology and solutions in to the commercial aviation industry.”