“A key obstacle to airline pilot training in Ireland is access to finance from Irish based lenders and especially for cadets from lower income cohorts – Ireland can quickly accelerate its annual output of professionally trained commercial pilots if debt funding can be secured at a reasonable interest rate” (Mark Casey, AFTA CEO and Founder)
Ireland’s largest Pilot Training Academy, AFTA has welcomed the publication of a new report by investment group Irelandia – “A Pathfinder for Irish Aviation” and its analysis on Irish Aviation and its policy recommendations, in relation to Pilot Training and improving access to competitive finance for cadets.
Atlantic Flight Training Academy, one of Europe’s leading Independent Flight Training Organisation’s, which recently celebrated 30 years in business operating at Cork airport and Waterford airport, believes the key recommendation to introduce an ISIF backed loan fund to help cadets finance their training would trigger a significant increase in commercial pilot output in Ireland. AFTA alone has over 100 applications on file from individuals who simply cannot access the more than €100,000 required for a full commercial pilot’s license.
Capt. Mark Casey, AFTA Founder and CEO, said:
“If this recommendation is implemented AFTA will commit to expanding its operations at airports including Waterford.”
The Enterprise-Ireland client firm believes the number of pilots trained in Ireland could quadruple in a relatively short period. AFTA has trained an impressive roll-call of 2,800 highly – skilled commercial pilots for leading airlines and commercial operators across the world, since its foundation at Cork airport in 1995. Airline customers have already indicated to AFTA that they have demand for extra pilots and they are ready to employ a significantly increased output of suitably qualified cockpit crew.
“Ireland can quickly accelerate its annual output of professionally trained commercial pilots if funding can be secured at a reasonable interest rate for prospective students. At every Pilot Career’s – recruitment event we attend, AFTA staff are constantly reminded by parents and students about the lack of available finance for prospective Pilot Cadets in Ireland. This issue is the major barrier – to – entry . Furthermore, this puts Irish Pilot Training Schools, like AFTA, at a competitive disadvantage, while our EU competitor Schools, enjoy main Street bank lending for trainees and state backed lending for trainees. We stand ready to respond proactively and positively to any Government initiative in this context and welcome Irelandia’s analysis of Irish aviation and its specific recommendation concerning pilot training.”
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For more information on AFTA, please contact [email protected] | 353-21-4888-737
About Atlantic Flight Training Academy (AFTA):
Atlantic Flight Training Academy, founded in 1995, is Ireland’s largest – and one of Europe’s leading – Independent Flight Training Organisations. The Academy is approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) and is headquartered at Cork International Airport with a secondary base at Waterford Airport.
The Academy has been training international cadets since 1995, with contracts including ASL Ireland, Ryanair, Air Astana, VistaJet, GlobeAir, Pegasus Airlines, Turkish Airlines & many more.
The academy is equipped with a modern training fleet and boasts state-of-the-art aircraft such as the Diamond DA42 Next Generation as well as Boeing 737 800 NG and the newly delivered Boeing 737-8200 (MAX) simulator. AFTA has an unrivalled success rate and have trained in excess of 2,800 high-calibre pilot graduates for commercial airlines since the business was founded in 1995.
AFTA is recognised by leading global airlines as a pioneer in the Pilot Training industry, working with its University partners Munster Technological University (MTU) in providing prospective pilots with a unique blended approach to becoming a commercial pilot, while also gaining an Honours primary degree, through the Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Global Business and Pilot Studies (BSc) programme and also through the BA (Hons) in International Business with Aviation Studies programme.
More details can be found at www.afta.ie or on Linkedin.
AFTA Media Contact
Declan OLeary
0872909988