IndiGo partners with Garuda Aviation Academy to train fresh pilots as junior first officers

Mumbai: No-frills carrier IndiGo on Thursday said it has partnered with Garuda Aviation Academy to train fresh pilots as future junior first officers, under the airline's Cadet Pilot Program. The 21-month course includes a three-month ground schooling at Garuda Aviation Academy training centre in Gurugram, followed by 12 months of training at 43 Air School in South Africa, which has a track record of training over 6,000 ab-initio pilots over the years, IndiGo said.

Over the last 13 years, the airline said, it has formed eight such partnerships and inducted over 1,000 pilots through these full training programmes, including commercial pilot licence and A320 type rating, the airline said.

These courses start right from cadet selection to induction into the airline as a pilot, according to the airline.

"The partnership with Garuda Aviation Academy will bolster our Cadet Pilot Programme. We believe that this 21-month course will successfully foster the next generation of skilled pilots who will continue to uphold IndiGo's commitment to providing safe, affordable, and hassle-free travel, for everyone," said Captain Ashim Mittra, Senior Vice President for flight operations at IndiGo.

Moreover, this initiative aligns seamlessly with the central government's regional air connectivity scheme -- UDAN mission -- fortifying IndiGo's commitment to connecting with smaller and medium-sized towns and cities, he added.

India is going to have a huge demand for pilots as the domestic carriers' IndiGo, Air India, and Akasa-together have ordered 1,120 aircraft since February last year.

Besides these orders, Indian carriers are set to take deliveries of new planes that were ordered earlier. IndiGo alone has an order book of nearly 1,000 planes.

India's commercial airlines, reportedly, are likely to nearly double fleet size to 1,400 by the 2029-30 fiscal year, according to CAPA data.

To fly them, the country needs at least 10,900 additional pilots by 2030 -- that's about 1,600 new pilots a year, as per CAPA.

"We focus on the personal and professional growth of our pilots. This partnership with Garuda Aviation Academy will provide our people with unique learning opportunities and foster leadership skills, paving the way for a robust cadre of leaders within IndiGo," Mittra said.