# Centre approves 11 new flying schools, adding 750 pilot training seats a year 2026-08-05T23:13:51+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk The Centre handed over Letters of Intent for 11 new Flying Training Organisations spread across seven Airports Authority of India airports, The Hindu reported from the New Delhi ceremony. The Ministry of Civil Aviation said the additions would lift the country's annual pilot training capacity by 750 seats. Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu said six such schools had already opened over the previous two years, during which the training aircraft fleet grew from 324 to 385 planes and annual flying hours rose 25%. Commercial Pilot Licences issued climbed from 1,347 in 2024 to 1,652 in 2025, the highest yearly figure in a decade. Naidu also said the government intended to strengthen manufacturing of trainer aircraft and seaplanes. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Issuing a Letter of Intent commits the government to a project but does not itself say when any of the 11 schools will start training cadets, so the extra 750 seats remain a target rather than existing capacity. Naidu's own figures, on aircraft numbers and licences issued, describe what the last two years of expansion already achieved, and The Hindu's account does not extend them to test whether the new capacity will translate into airline hiring or lower training costs for cadets. The plan to strengthen trainer aircraft and seaplane manufacturing is likewise a stated intention rather than a running programme. Operational dates for the 11 new schools, once the ministry names them, will show when the extra 750 seats actually arrive. ## Coverage - www.thehindu.com Tags: Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Ministry of Civil Aviation Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/centre-issues-lois-for-11-new-flying-training-schools-annual-pilot-training-capacity-to-increase-by-750-cadets/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/centre-issues-lois-for-11-new-flying-training-schools-annual-pilot-training-capacity-to-increase-by-750-cadets/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.