Low cost air carrier IndiGo has tied up with CAE Global Academy to meet its pilot requirements, as it undertakes a massive expansion plan.
The Gurgaon headquartered airline has 39 airbus A320s. It placed orders for 180 similar aircraft earlier this year. It will be adding a plane each month for the next 13 years and will require close to 2,000 commanders and co-pilots.
To meet its long-term requirement it has signed a five-year deal with with CAE Global Academy, based in Gondia, Maharashtra. IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh said this should also be seen as the company's effort to address the long-term shortage of qualified pilots in India.
The IndiGo Cadet Pilot Program is designed to enable aspiring young pilots to receive both their initial Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) and an Airbus A320 Type Rating, the airline said in a press statement. Selected candidates would have to pay up to Rs 45 lakh for both courses. The training in the academy's flying school will be in line with IndiGo's protocol and standards.
The tie also comes in the backdrop of the fake pilot scam, in which many were found to have fudged records to get a licence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
“Currently, so many pilots in India have been trained in the Philippines and there is a suspicion that flying log books in those schools may have been fudged. They obtain DGCA licences based on those records and there is no cross-check of training. The proposed tie-up will ensure that IndiGo gets good quality pilots. The training burden will be reduced, as the company culture will be inculcated during the course itself,'' said an airline source.
