How Emirates’ academy is addressing pilot shortage

How Emirates’ academy is addressing pilot shortage

UAE flagship carrier’s Emirates Flight Training Academy (EFTA) is pulling out all stops to address the regional pilot shortage by increasing its cohort size and recruiting new instructors to train Emirati and expatriate pilots. Though Emirates officials did not name the companies, EFTA is also looking to address the shortage of pilots by partnering with other airlines where the academy cadets can work once they graduate. Speaking to Gulf News at EFTA’s third graduation ceremony, held on Thursday, Captain Abdulla Al Hammadi, Vice President of Emirates Flight Training Academy, said: “After today’s graduation ceremony, we have inducted 53 new pilots into the aviation industry. Several airlines have approached us to propose a proposal to train pilots up to international standards.” “The facility can take up to 600 students at a time. But in terms of equipment and human resources, we expand if there is demand. The projection was for next year to hire more people.” Captain Abdulla said the institution is limiting its recruitment to instructors and engineers, administrators, etc. The facility currently hosts 250 cadets, including 40 international students from 18 nationalities. More than 100 cadets have graduated from EFTA as of December 2022. According to Oliver Wyman’s latest