Work begins on Airbus Asia Training Centre in Singapore

Construction of the new Airbus Asia Training Centre (AATC) in Singapore is now underway, following the completion of initial ground-breaking works.

Due to open in the first quarter of 2016, the new facility will offer type rating and recurrent training courses for all in-production Airbus types.

The AATC is a joint venture between Airbus (55%) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) (45%).

The 9,250 square metre state-of-the-art facility, located at Seletar Aerospace Park, will be the fourth Airbus flight training centre in its global network, joining those in Toulouse, Miami and Beijing.

When fully operational, the Singapore centre will feature eight full flight simulators, including four A350 XWBs, one A380, one A330 and two A320s.

The centre will also offer extensive classroom facilities and will be able to offer courses for more than 10,000 trainees per year.

Prior to the opening of the new centre, AATC offers courses out of temporary facilities at the SIA Training Centre near Changi Airport and operates one A380 and two A330 simulators.

Instructors for AATC are initially being drawn from Airbus and Singapore Airlines, with additional recruitment set to take place in the coming months. In total, the centre expects to provide employment for some 50 instructors and 25 support staff.

“AATC is a true win-win partnership for Singapore Airlines and Airbus,” said Singapore Airlines’ Senior Vice President Flight Operations, Captain Gerard Yeap. “With demand for air travel forecast to continue growing strongly in the Asia-Pacific region, AATC will be a centre of excellence that will help the industry keep pace with training requirements, while also enhancing Singapore’s position as a leading aviation hub.”

In addition to its flight crew training centres in Toulouse, Miami and Beijing, Airbus has engineering and maintenance training centres in Hamburg and Bangalore. The company also has agreements with third party service providers to offer Airbus training courses at their facilities.

AATC will welcome trainees from airlines based across the Asia-Pacific region. All the courses offered by AATC are identical to those at the manufacturer’s flight training centres in Toulouse, Miami and Beijing.

“We are pleased to be adding Singapore to our network of flight training centres,” said Didier Lux, Head of Customer Services, Airbus. “This state-of-the art facility will enable us to bring Airbus training services closer to our customers and operators in the fast growing Asia-Pacific region. We look forward to working with our partner Singapore Airlines to develop this world class facility in one of the region’s leading aviation hubs.”

New training requirements for airline pilots

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and IATA have published new training requirements for airline pilots to prevent loss of control situations.

The ‘upset prevention and recovery training’ (UPRT) requirements aim to improve safety standards by mitigating loss of control in-flight (LOC-I) accidents.

The requirements are based on International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards and recommended practices and have been developed by EASA in consultation with leading industry experts. All European airlines and commercial business jet operators are required to implement these provisions by April 2016. IATA Director General and CEO Tony Tyler said, “Although LOC-I events are rare, 97% of the LOC-I accidents over the past five years involved fatalities to passengers or crew. 

Partnering with EASA on this important initiative based on global standards and best practices will reduce the likelihood of such events in future.”

IATA, through its Pilot Training Task Force, is developing detailed guidance material in support of the implementation of the provisions by its European members.