IGRUA sets new flying record in 2021, to start engineering school shortly

The Centre-run Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) clocked more than 19,000 flying hours in 2021 – the highest for any commercial pilot training institute in India -- despite the Covid-19 pandemic, according to officials.

The Uttar Pradesh-based IGRUA, an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, in 2013 had logged its highest tally of completing 19,638 hours of flying training while its 2021 figures stood at 19,019 hours and 11,641 hours in 2020, the officials said.

The institute, the only Centre-affiliated facility in the country, trains cadet pilots for flying commercial aircraft. These cadets upon completion of the mandatory 200 hours of flying training get a commercial pilot’s license (CPL) needed for commercial flying in India or abroad.

IGRUA Director Krishnendu Gupta said last year the Amethi-based institute expanded into training drone pilots, started an English language proficiency program besides collaborating with GMR for a Basic Fire Fighting Course.

The institute is now gearing up to start an aircraft maintenance engineering school as part of the effort to diversify within the aviation industry, he said.

On clocking more than 19,000 hours amid the pandemic, Gupta told PTI, ''It was extremely difficult because we had to carry out our training schedule under the growing threat of the spread of coronavirus infection in the campus. Maintaining the flying hours as well as protecting the students and staff against infection was a herculean task.'' ''To add to the existing problems there was the problem of an unexpected cyclone Tauktae hitting us,'' Gupta, also a member of the advisory panel on Flying Training Organisation (FTO) to Ministry of Civil Aviation, said.

He added that the worsening pandemic situation also prompted India’s aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to postpone examinations of the trainee cadets, leading to a delay in completion of their course.

''We also had to adhere to airspace closure due to routine Air Force exercises. Despite these challenges, with the help of meticulous planning and a focused approach, we could achieve this milestone,'' the director said.

Gupta said while it was undeniable that the aviation industry suffered huge losses during the last two years of the pandemic, he was “very optimistic” that the industry will not only recover but will grow exponentially in the coming years.

“There will be a huge requirement of pilots and therefore we should take full advantage of this comparatively lean period to accelerate our training process and produce the maximum number of CPL to cater to the upcoming requirements,” he said.

“We should encourage all aspirants to avail the world-class aviation training facilities that we are providing in our country. We hope to discourage those aspirants who choose to go abroad for pilot training. This will put a check on foreign exchange outflow,” he said.

Noting that training pilots in India will be an effective step towards strengthening an “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, he said IGRUA aims at crossing 20,000 hours in 2022.

The institute currently has a fleet of 18 trainer aircraft which includes single-engine variants of Diamond DA 40, Zlin, and TB 20 while for the multi-engine it has the Diamond DA 42.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)