Amravati airport inaugurated; South East Asia's 'biggest' pilot training school to come up nearby

Amravati: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday inaugurated an airport at Amravati in eastern parts of the state, where he said a pilot training school coming up nearby will be the largest such institution in South East Asia.

The school, which will come up in five to six months, will produce around 180 pilots every year and will have at its disposal 34 aircraft for training, Fadnavis said after inaugurating the airport and commercial passenger flight service.

Union Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu was also present on the occasion.

“The pilot training school will be the largest in South East Asia and will put the city, around 150 km from Nagpur, on the world map,” the CM said, adding that it was a big gift the city has received during the tenure of the Narendra Modi government.

The PM Mitra textile park coming up in Amravati will generate about two lakh jobs, he said.

He also said the existing airports at Akola and Yavatmal in the Amravati division are being expanded.

Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said the airport in Amravati will open new doors of progress for Vidarbha and Maharashtra.

“Under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Maharashtra has reached new heights in the last 10 years. Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur airports have been expanded as hubs, while regional airports like Kolhapur, Jalgaon, Nashik, Gondia and Sindhudurg have been developed with a budget of Rs 7,000 crore under the UDAN scheme,” he said.

Maharashtra has identified 160 routes and already started 105 routes under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), he said.
The number of passengers in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Shirdi airports has seen a 40 per cent rise in the last five years, the Union minister said.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai will become the main airport hub, while the Navi Mumbai airport will start soon, he said.

Naidu said that while there were only 74 airports in India in 2014, the number of airports has gone up to 159 in 2025.

Similarly, the number of aircraft which was 400 in 2014, has now doubled to 800, he added.

He lauded Air India for inaugurating the Flying Training organisation (FTO) for pilot training in Amravati.

“Today, India has an order of 1,700 planes and the country will have to generate 30,000 pilots in 10 to 15 years,” he said, adding that the new airport in Amravati will help in Vidarbha’s development and also contribute to the development of aviation in Maharashtra.