At the end of 2024, the Lleida-Alguaire airport will serve as a training center for about 400 pilots, half of whom will come from India, which will have an annual economic impact in the area of ??about 6 million euros.
This is the calculation made by the Department of Territory of the Generalitat after learning about the plans of the Lithuanian aeronautical training company BBA Training, established in Alguaire since 2018 and which has just closed an agreement with the company Air India.
In a statement, the department highlighted this Tuesday that this figure of 400 pilots could increase further in the coming years, until 2026.
For now, in January 2024 the first group of 15 pilots from India will arrive in Lleida and in June there will be around sixty, who will join other students from countries such as Vietnam, with which BBA Training has also signed an agreement.
According to the department headed by Ester Capella, the impact of the cat on accommodation, goods and services per student is about 15,000 euros per year.
Capella, who is on an official trip to India, held a meeting today in New Delhi with representatives of this company based in Alguaire to learn more about their plans.
Currently, the pilot school has 60 students from all over the world and 15 aircraft.
The Generalitat also plans to build two new hangars and a new 800-square-meter building for aeronautical training in Lleida in 2024, which will have a minimum of ten classrooms and rest areas, among other facilities.
During the trip, the councilor also met with representatives of Air India, who highlighted that Barcelona is “a priority” and that direct flights between Nova Delhi and the Catalan capital could begin in 2025.
The Government has also taken steps to reinvent the function of the Lleida airport, preparing an initiative so that it can host a rocket engine testing center.
