RGATT

The government is planning to convert the State-owned Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology (RGATT) into a national institute to cater to the needs of aviation sector,
Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs M. Vijayakumar has said.
He was addressing a gathering after handing over student pilot licences (SPL) to the first batch of 25 RGATT students here.
Mr. Vijayakumar, who is also in-charge of the aviation portfolio, said the government wanted to make the academy a prestigious one. The government had worked out plans to expand the activities of the academy to two more cities in the State, he said.
The crisis in the aviation sector will not have any impact on job opportunities, he said. “Air travel is on the increase in the country and the demand for pilots is also on the rise,” he said.
Academy Executive Director V. Thulasidas, who presided over the function, said the aim of the academy was to provide quality training at affordable rates to young, aspiring pilots who wished to take up a career in the burgeoning aviation sector.
Mr. Thulasidas said the academy had plans to start aircraft maintenance engineering, aeronautical engineering, flight despatcher and cabin crew courses. The academy, with three modern aircraft, needed two single-engine and one multi-engine aircraft to impart training to the students, he said. The academy is looking for a separate airstrip and campus to expand its activities