Air India Airbus A350-900 VT-JRB in the airline’s new livery taking off at London Heathrow

Air India Flying Academy: DGCA Clears Airline-Owned Pilot School

by Connor Kerr | Nov 1, 2026 | Monde de l'aviation, Nouvelles | 0 comments

On Friday 30 October 2026, Air India announced that India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), had approved its new flying academy at Belora Airport in Amravati, Maharashtra. The airline says it is the first flying academy established by an Indian airline in the country.

That matters in a country whose airlines are ordering aircraft faster than it can train people to fly them. Air India’s cadets have been sent to partner schools, including AeroGuard in Phoenix, Arizona. At Amravati, the Tata Group-owned airline will be able to take a student from zero hours to a commercial licence on its own airfield, in its own aircraft.

Informations clés

Quoi: Air India Flying Academy, approved by the DGCA
Annoncé : Friday 30 October 2026
Où: Belora Airport, Amravati, Maharashtra
Réclamer: First flying academy established by an Indian airline (Air India)
Flotte: 34 trainers: 31 Piper Archer DX single-engine, 3 Diamond DA42-VI twins
Campus: 10 acres, with classrooms, student housing and maintenance facility
Course: 18-month CPL programme, 200 flying hours
Cible: Around 180 pilots a year

What the DGCA approved

According to Air India, the academy will fly a planned fleet of 31 single-engine and three twin-engine training aircraft from a 10-acre campus. The site includes digitally enabled classrooms, student accommodation, a digital operations centre and a dedicated maintenance facility.

Le Free Press Journal reports that the project, developed with the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), is about 95 per cent complete, that all 34 aircraft have already arrived at Belora, and that training is expected to begin within a month with a first batch of around 180 trainees. A formal start date has not yet been announced.

It has been a long build-up. When Air India and Diamond Aircraft announced their trainer deal in December 2024, the school was due to open in the second half of 2025. It is now set to start roughly a year later than that.

Piper and Diamond, both on jet fuel

The single-engine trainers are Piper Archer DX aircraft. Piper announced the order for 31 in February 2025, with an option on 62 more for 2026 and 2027. The Archer DX is the diesel version of the long-serving PA-28 Archer, powered by a Continental CD-155 engine that burns jet fuel instead of avgas, with Garmin G1000 avionics as standard.

A white and blue Piper Archer DX diesel single-engine trainer on static display — A Piper Archer DX, the diesel trainer Air India ordered 31 of for its Amravati academy. This example was photographed at EBACE 2018 in Geneva and is not an Air India aircraft. Photo: Matti Blume / CC BY-SA 4.0

The twins are Diamond DA42-VI aircraft from Diamond Aircraft of Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Diamond announced the deal for three, with an option for six more, in December 2024. The four-seat DA42-VI also runs on jet fuel, which Diamond says saves up to 50 per cent compared with conventional avgas-powered twins. Cadets move onto it once they progress to multi-engine training.

“We are excited to partner with Piper Aircraft as we set up India’s first airline-owned and operated cadet pilot school.”

Sunil Bhaskaran — Director, Aviation Academy, Air India, on the Piper order (Piper Aircraft release, February 2025)

Both types fly with glass cockpits, so students learn on screens rather than round dials, which Diamond says will help prepare them for careers on large commercial jets. The Free Press Journal says the aircraft are fitted with Garmin G1000 NXi displays and ADS-B.

A white Diamond DA42-VI twin-engine training aircraft parked on an apron — A Diamond DA42-VI at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the US, the same model as the three twins Air India ordered for multi-engine training at Amravati. Not an Air India aircraft. Photo: ZLEA / CC BY-SA 4.0

Inside the 18-month course

The academy will run an 18-month Commercial Pilot Licence programme, the Free Press Journal reports, with 200 hours of flying per student: 185 on single-engine aircraft and 15 on the twin. Three simulators, two single-engine and one multi-engine, let trainees rehearse procedures on the ground first, and the school plans one flying instructor for every six students.

Weather is part of the pitch. Amravati is expected to offer more than 300 potential flying days a year, which helps students finish their hours on schedule. Air India has said it aims to train around 180 pilots a year here, and calls the school South Asia’s largest flying training organisation.

“The DA42-VI is designed to make transitioning from single- to multi-engine aircraft training much easier, and Air India’s future cadets will benefit from this.”

Jane Wang — Director of Sales, Marketing and Flight Ops, Diamond Aircraft Austria (December 2024)

Why India needs its own pilot factory

The numbers explain the urgency. In March 2025, India’s Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu said the country would need about 30,000 pilots over the next 15 to 20 years, against roughly 6,000 to 7,000 working today. Indian airlines had more than 1,700 aircraft on order, on top of a fleet of over 800.

An airline that owns its school controls the pipeline: the syllabus, the standards and the pace. Amravati also sits alongside Air India’s training academy in Gurugram, a 600,000 sq ft centre the airline describes as the largest aviation training institution in South Asia.

Air India’s official look inside its Aviation Academy, the airline’s training arm behind the new Amravati flying school.

For a young Indian who wants to fly airliners, the road to the right-hand seat of an Air India jet may soon begin with a diesel Piper climbing out over Vidarbha. Thirty-four trainers are parked and waiting. Now the airline needs the students.

Sources: Air India, Free Press Journal, The Tribune (ANI), Piper Aircraft, Diamond Aircraft, AVweb, Gulf News, AFM

Foire aux questions

What is the Air India Flying Academy?

The Air India Flying Academy is Air India’s own pilot school at Belora Airport in Amravati, Maharashtra. It received DGCA approval on 30 October 2026, and Air India says it is the first flying academy established by an Indian airline in the country. It aims to train around 180 pilots a year.

Where is the Air India flight school?

The Air India flight school is at Belora Airport in Amravati, in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. The 10-acre campus has classrooms, student accommodation, a digital operations centre and its own maintenance facility, and the area is expected to offer more than 300 potential flying days a year.

What aircraft does the Air India Flying Academy use?

The Air India Flying Academy has 34 trainers: 31 single-engine Piper Archer DX aircraft from the United States and three twin-engine Diamond DA42-VI aircraft from Austria. Both types burn jet fuel rather than avgas and have Garmin glass cockpits, and the twins are used for multi-engine training.

How long is the Air India commercial pilot course at Amravati?

The Air India commercial pilot course at Amravati is an 18-month Commercial Pilot Licence programme, according to the Free Press Journal. Each trainee flies 200 hours, 185 on single-engine aircraft and 15 on the twin, supported by three simulators and one instructor for every six students.

When will the Air India Flying Academy start training?

The Air India Flying Academy was approved by the DGCA on 30 October 2026, and the Free Press Journal reports training is expected to begin within about a month, with a first batch of around 180 trainees. Air India had not announced a formal start date at the time of the approval.

How many pilots does India need?

India will need about 30,000 pilots over the next 15 to 20 years, Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu said in March 2025, compared with roughly 6,000 to 7,000 working pilots at the time. Indian airlines had more than 1,700 aircraft on order on top of a fleet of over 800.