More than 100 aviation professionals from African countries will be trained at the Indian Aviation Academy, New Delhi, in operation and management of airports this year, according to Dinesh Kumar, director of the academy, which is the training wing of the Airports Authority of India.
The AAI set up the academy because a majority of its employees are highly experienced in airport operations and there is a need to train recruits as well as provide orientation programmes for existing staff as airport operations and management has changed over the years.
The IAC, which offers more than 120 courses, trained 3,500 people last year, said Mr. Kumar. The programmes were offered to foreign nationals as mandated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The training programme would be done as part of an agreement that India signed with the African Union and the duration would be 10 days.
“The Academy has trained about 20 executives from Afghanistan. Another batch will be taking our course this year. The academy trains them in all aspects of airport operation including safety and security.”
The academy, started in 2010, offered short-term courses for executives in cargo operations, airport passenger operations, commercial aspects of airport, human resources development, airport finance, airport engineering and aviation law.
It also has an approved training centre for aviation security training.
Besides starting long-term courses, the academy’s plans for the future include opening training centres in Mumbai, Guwahati, Ahmedabad and Kolkata.
It is expected to get a new building soon on an eight-acre plot near New Delhi. Plans are also afoot to tie up with foreign universities to offer full-fledged courses in aviation management.
The Singapore Aviation Academy is one of the organisations the academy is in discussion with for a possible tie-up. Mr Dinesh Kumar said: “Ultimately we want to make the academy into a deemed university in the next five years.”
