CAA staff balloted over strike action
Prospect trade union members at the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are to be balloted on industrial action over pay. The call for strike action is a first for the UK’s aviation regulator. Having got its finances into a healthier position post-pandemic, the CAA has offered staff a 5% pay rise, but trade union Prospect is urging its members to reject the offer, stating that it is too little to offset pay cuts imposed during the...
ATO regulatory oversight debate hots up
The flight training industry is continuing to seek financial oversight of UK Approved Training Organisations (ATOs) in the aftermath of the collapse of two majors UK schools, FTA-Global and Tayside Aviation, which resulted in the loss of millions of pounds of students’ training funds. Following FTN’s announcement that the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) may be falling short in its regulatory oversight duties, a number of ATOs,...
Time to go
When I look back now at my time flying aircraft for a living, I see a patchwork quilt of a career. No regrets though, I enjoyed every minute of it and hope that has come through in the writing of this column. It has been 17 years since the editor/publisher of FTN asked me to write regularly about what we do for a living. The title ‘From the Flightdeck’ was his idea and it is still a good one. I hope they keep it after I have gone....
Wizz Air partners with Urbe Aero Flight Academy
Italian ATO Urbe Aero Flight Academy has announced a new commercial pilot training partnership with Wizz Air. The Wizz Air Pathway Programme pre-selects cadets for future roles with the low cost carrier before they embark on an 18-month integrated ATPL training programme with Urbe Aero. On successful completion of training, graduates will then complete A320 type rating training with Wizz Air before joining the airline as first...
British Airways launches sponsored pilot cadet programme
British Airways announce a new sponsored pilot training programme that funds all pilot training costs for 60 pilots a year. British Airways say that professional flight training costs for aspiring pilots can top £100,000. The major’s latest multi million pound initiative will axe the prohibitively high entry cost that push the profession beyond most peoples reach. “The Speedbird Pilot Academy will make the ambition of becoming...
Emirates Flight Training academy adds DA42 to training fleet
Emirates Flight Training Academy (EFTA), have taken delivery of a new fleet of Diamond DA42-VI light piston twin-engine aircraft, enabling the academy to commence multi-engine piston (MEP) training, serving as a bridge between training on a single engine and a light jet, and rounding off EFTA’s training fleet to 30 aircraft. With a range of 1,225 nautical miles, the aircraft made their journey from Vienna, Austria to Dubai with EFTA’s...
