New Delhi: The Government of India will set up five Flying Training Academies in the country which included Kalaburagi and Belagavi in Karnataka. Other three places are Jalgaon, Khajuraho and Lilabari.

These Academies are set up under the liberalised Flying Training Organisation (FTO) policy of the Airports Authority  of India  (AAI). 

Attesting to the perseverance and determination of the team of the AAI is the fact that they successfully managed to finalise the bidding process amid the challenging period caused due to the second wave of COVID-19. These five airports have been carefully chosen since they have minimal disruption due to weather issues and civil/ military air traffic. This initiative will help the Indian flying training sector in becoming more self-sustaining under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiative.

The AAI had invited bids for the same in November 2020. The award letters were issued on May 31, 2021 to winning bidders: Asia-Pacific, Jetserve, Redbird, Samvardhane and Skynex. The parameters set for prospective bidders included familiarisation with aviation safety aspects, regulatory mechanisms, experience in the field of training pilots on manned aircraft, the availability of equipment, trainers, etc.