Aero Club of India and Global Partners to Establish Centre of Excellence for Aviation Training

India - The Aero Club of India (ACI) has signed a quadripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Alpha Aviation Group, Piper Asia, and MHC Global Private Limited to establish a Centre of Excellence (COE) for aviation training and Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) in India. The initiative will bring international training expertise, modern aircraft capability, simulation, technology, academic programmes and institutional resources onto a common platform.

The COE is conceived as a national platform to support FTOs through standardisation, shared expertise and economies of scale. Alpha Aviation Group will contribute international training methodology, instructor development and training management expertise. Piper Asia will support training-aircraft solutions, fleet planning and lifecycle requirements. MHC Global will contribute academic programmes, simulation, digital learning and infrastructure support. ACI, as the principal institution, will provide overall leadership, governance and interface with government and regulatory authorities.

A central objective of the COE is to strengthen consistency and quality across flying training. Its proposed areas of work include operating procedures, training manuals, safety and quality-assurance systems, instructor development and competency-based assessment. The Centre also envisages integrating training delivery, performance monitoring and maintenance management through artificial intelligence-enabled digital platforms, enabling participating FTOs to monitor training standards, safety performance and fleet health in real time.

All initiatives under the COE will be aligned with the requirements of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and benchmarked against relevant international standards and best practices.

The Centre of Excellence reflects a national vision championed by the President, Aero Club of India—a Member of Parliament and an active airline pilot—to position India at the forefront of global aviation training through excellence, standardisation and international best practice.

India is among the world's fastest-growing civil aviation markets, with a corresponding requirement for professionally trained pilots, instructors and aviation managers. The COE is intended to address this requirement by developing a sustainable, standardised and internationally benchmarked aviation-training ecosystem in India.

The Centre will be governed by a Steering Committee chaired by the Aero Club of India and comprising representatives of all four partners. The next phase will be the preparation of a detailed implementation roadmap defining priority initiatives, responsibilities, milestones and timelines.

About Aero Club of India
Established in 1927, the Aero Club of India is the country's apex aviation body and National Air Sports Control affiliated to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), with a longstanding role in fostering flying and flying training in India.

About Alpha Aviation Group
Alpha Aviation Group is an international aviation training organisation contributing operational and technical expertise in modern flight training, instructor development and training management.

About Piper Asia
Piper Asia is the regional partner for Piper aircraft, supporting fleet, technology and lifecycle requirements of aviation training organisations.

About MHC Global Private Limited
MHC Global Private Limited is the principal academic, technology and infrastructure partner of the COE, supporting simulation, digital learning, academic pathways and institutional development.

Source: Aero Club of India