AAAE/IAAE Sign Agreement with Indian Aviation Academy and GMR Aviation Academy to Provide Training, Accreditation Programs

The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and International Association of Airport Executives (IAAE), an affiliate organization of AAAE, are proud to announce a major new agreement with the Indian Aviation Academy and GMR Aviation Academy to bring a wide-ranging array of professional development and training programs to airport executives throughout India.

This historic agreement, which was formalized today with the signing of a “Memorandum of Understanding” at the Indian Aviation Academy in New Delhi, marks the first comprehensive partnership between IAAE and India to provide a variety of benefits to airport executives in India, including a widely-respected accreditation program, interactive training sessions and additional professional development opportunities. With nearly 70 years of experience, AAAE is the world’s largest provider of interactive training for employees at airports of all sizes throughout the United States.

“AAAE and IAAE are extremely proud and honored to sign this Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Aviation Academy and GMR Aviation Academy to provide important membership and training services to the country’s dedicated airport executives and professional staff,” AAAE Chair Jeanne Olivier, A.A.E., ACE, Assistant Director, Aviation Security and Technology at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and IAAE Co-Chair Jeff Mulder, A.A.E., Executive Director at the Lee County Port Authority in Fort Myers, Fla., said in a joint statement. “We are excited to continue this important partnership in the months and years to come.”

Douglas Webster, COO, and Ashok Madhu Reddy, GM, Airport Operations of GMR Delhi International Airport, and Nandita Bhatt, Joint GM and Aman Saini, DGM from the Airports Authority of India, contributed toward bringing AAAE/IAAE to India and said in a joint statement, “We are hopeful this training program will be very helpful to Indian airport executives and also to those who are aspiring to become airport professionals.”

“We are very pleased to be part of this collaboration with IAAE and look forward to implementing these top-notch benefits and training for our growing airport workforce,” Hareendranathan E.P., executive director of the Indian Aviation Academy, and Meloth H Krishnan, Head of GMR Aviation Academy, said in a joint statement.

Also in attendance at the MOU signing ceremony were S Suresh, Member - Finance, Airports Authority of India, and General Council, India Aviation Academy, and PS Nair, CEO - Airport Sector, GMR Group, as well as representatives from the Commercial Service Office, U.S. Embassy in Delhi and the U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program.

Under the agreement, airport staff throughout India will be eligible for the following benefits and professional development opportunities, which will be provided through IAAE:

• IAAE-India membership program for individual airport executives and professional staff;
• The Accredited Airport Executive (A.A.E.) program, which will award the A.A.E.-India designation to candidates who successfully demonstrate a high level of expertise in the airport management profession, and accreditation academies in India organized by IAAE;
• The International Aerodrome Certified Employee (IACE) online training and certification program, which is based on International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 14;
• Video training delivered through AAAE’s Digicast system on every aspect needed to run an airport, including operations, maintenance, security, aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) and more;
• and Training courses held in India on airport security and ARFF.