IAF cell at Hyderabad international airport to attract youth to the force
The initiative is also to enhance the presence of IAF at major airports
Hyderabad: With the aim to attract the youth to the Indian Air Force and to provide information on openings and courses, a facilitation-cum-publicity cell (FCP) was launched on Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad. This is the second such FCP in the country, after Delhi.
Air Marshal R.G. Burli, Commandant Air Force Academy, Dundigal, who launched the FCP at the lower arrival terminal of the airport, said that it would help fill the requirement of pilots. “We are short of pilots. But it’s not that we do not have sufficient applicants. We are getting many applications, but very few with the qualities that we are looking for,” he said.
GMR has allocated the space on “gratis” barring utility costs.
Apart from just awareness, the FCP will also be a nodal point for handling of the bodies of martyrs as well as to assist defence personnel and their families during air travel.
The initiative is also to enhance the presence of IAF at major airports.
“The IAF pavilion at Terminal-3 IGI airport in Delhi, set up in October, was a great success. And we are looking for a similar turnout here. The RGIA receives a considerable number of visitors on a daily basis. And setting up IAF pavilions at major airport terminals would play a major role in building the ‘Brand IAF’,” Air Marshal Burli added. The FCP features an LCA replica, an electronic display unit and an online information iPad. The kiosk will be manned for 12 hours a day.