Emirates Flight Training Academy (EFTA), a flight training facility developed by Emirates, and the National Aviation Academy (Tayaran), a not-for-profit vocational training institute in Saudi Arabia, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to share their expertise and jointly promote their training programs and exchange cadet pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians in training between the two academies.
The MoU was recently signed by Captain Abdulla Al-Hammadi, vice president of Emirates Flight Training Academy, and Mohammed T. Al-Subaie, director general of the National Aviation Academy, in the presence of Prince Faisal bin Bandar, governor of Riyadh, and Prince Sultan bin Salman, president and chairman of the board of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH). This collaboration reflects the shared interests between the two academies and the strong bond between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
“The Emirates Flight Training Academy is very pleased to partner with the National Aviation Academy. This collaboration will help develop the talent pool supporting the future growth of the aviation industry in our region. We look forward to working closely with Tayaran to provide our expertise and share our advanced state-of-the-art technology and curriculum, as well as create a platform for a mutually beneficial exchange between aspiring young aviation professionals from cadet pilots to world-class maintenance technicians,” said Captain Al-Hammadi.
The Emirates Flight Training Academy is located near Dubai World Central (DWC) airport in Dubai South and was inaugurated in 2017. The facility spreads over an area that is almost the size of 200 football fields with state-of-the-art technology and equipment. This includes 36 ground school classrooms, ground-based simulators, an 1,800-square-meter dedicated runway, an independent air traffic control tower, a maintenance center, modern training aircraft fleet, a fully operational private airport, as well as accommodations and recreational facilities for cadets. Today, over 200 UAE nationals are enrolled in EFTA’s National Cadet Pilot Program.
Tayaran is an aviation academy focused on all aviation industry training needs and launched under the patronage of Prince Sultan bin Salman, the chairman of the board of trustees, with board members representing Saudi Aramco, Saudi Aviation Club, Saudi Ministry of Education, Saudi Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, Saudi Economic Cities Authority, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudia Airlines and Taqnia Aeronautics.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecasts airline passenger demand to double over the next two decades. This means it is estimated that a staggering 460,000 new commercial pilots will be needed by 2031.
