Aussie state peddles its aviation capabilities

For every pilot, there has to be 6-7 mechanics to take care of an aircraft. There is a massive shortage of ground personnel in India to meet the demands of the fast-growing aviation sector.

The 1,000-odd aircraft that are expected to take to the Indian skies over the next 5-10 years will require thousands of personnel to fly them and six-seven times that number to maintain them.

"With the imminent massive shortage of personnel here, they need to be trained here or sent abroad. But, sending people abroad for training costs a lot," said David Plumpton, business development manager, Aviation Australia (AA).

AA is an organisation established by the Queensland government, a state in Australia. AA had been set up with the objective of supporting the development and growth of the aviation and aerospace industries in Queensland and the Asia-Pacific region. AA is an aviation training and education provider.

"About 30 per cent of Australia's aviation and aerospace industry is concentrated in Queensland," said commissioner, trade and investment office of Queensland government, David Belham. Queensland, he added, has many aerospace and aviation firms, and many training facilities.

The firms of the two countries can benefit mutually from cooperation.

"We are not taking away jobs from here. We only want to help strengthen the aviation industry here," added Belham. The regulatory and licensing approvals of Aussie firms are globally recognised and can be of great benefit to India and Indian firms.

The engineering and manufacturing facilities are amazing here, said Stephen I Wilson, chairman, Dean Wilson Aviation.

"Bangalore's aerospace capabilities are underpromoted," said Wilson.

It is a testimony to India's emergence as an attractive destination for those in the aviation sector, companies from across the world are being drawn to India to showcase their prowess, either to build their business here or use India as a manufacturing base.