IndiGo, India’s largest passenger airline, has chosen Skyborne Airline Academy to train up to 100 pilots a year over the next five years, as part of the IndiGo Cadet Pilot Programme.
Gloucestershire Airport, UK – 29 January 2019:
The 18-month programme will enable selected cadets to train for a US FAA and Indian DGCA Commercial Pilots Licence and Airbus A320 Type Rating, before advancing into employment and flying the line as a First Officer with India’s leading airline.
IndiGo’s Captain Ashim Mittra, Senior Vice President – Flight Operations, says:
“Our partnership with Skyborne will provide us with a steady flow of highly-skilled, internationally trained airline pilots over the next five years. The Indian aviation market is the fastest developing in the world, undergoing growth of 17% year-on-year. It is expected that airlines in India will require up to 10,000 new pilots by 2030 to meet demand, so we are delighted to have signed this agreement with Skyborne.”
Skyborne cadets will undergo 13 months of US FAA 141 commercial pilot training in Arizona, USA; before returning to India to convert their US FAA licence to an Indian DGCA licence. Cadets then complete a 10-week phase of Multi-Crew Cooperation and Airbus A320 Type Rating at a Skyborne-approved facility. The location of the Type Rating training will be agreed between IndiGo and Skyborne towards the end of the CPL phase of training.
Lee Woodward, Chief Executive Officer, Skyborne, says:
“We are delighted to be working with an airline of such high esteem as IndiGo, supplying them with capable and highly-skilled pilots over the next five years and beyond. We have invested in industry-leading flight training equipment and facilities to ensure our cadets receive the best education and experience possible, and look forward to fulfilling IndiGo’s needs for top professionals in their field over the course of our agreement.”
Skyborne is set to welcome its first intake of handpicked cadets in April 2019.
For further information about Skyborne and how to apply, please visit www.skyborne.com
