Wizz Air has announced it will install an advanced cockpit simulator at its crew training centre in Budapest, adding increased capability for its airline-owned pilot-training programmes.
The A320 aircraft fixed-base simulator will be operational this summer and supplement Wizz Air’s full motion simulator, which the company says gives it flexibility to ensure its flight crews maintain rigorous training standards. It also allows additional scheduling options to continue to meet the training requirements for Wizz Air’s planned growth.
The simulator, an exact replica of the Airbus A320 flight deck, is identical to a full flight simulator without the motion and includes a high quality visual system combined with rumble and audio to provide a realistic flight environment. The device, supplied by MPS, will be used for various A320 family aircraft pilot training activities including type rating training and some cabin crew training.
Wizz Air reportedly saw a 2% increase in the number of passengers carried in 2015, up to 19.2 million from 15.8 million in 2014. The airline recently became the first low-cost carrier in Europe to put into operation a 230-seat Airbus A321ceo, the current production version of this variant of Wizz Air’s A320, 180-seat aircraft.
Wizz Air Chief Flight Operations Officer, Captain David Morgan, said, “We are delighted to partner with MPS for the acquisition of this brand new A320 fixed base simulator. It will substantially enhance our existing training capability by augmenting the full motion simulator at our training centre in Budapest.”
