Airbus Flight Academy Europe (AFAE) has inaugurated a new campus in Angoulême in the south west of France. AFAE is a 100% subsidiary of Airbus, and has been offering the ab-initio Airbus Pilot Cadet Training Programme since 2019.
The new facility will provide AFEA with the ability to train up to 200 pilot cadets simultaneously. The large facility will include fourteen classrooms and briefing rooms, a simulator hall, an auditorium and a restaurant.
In addition, AFEA has ordered four new Elixir aircraft for pilot training. Jean Longobardi, President of Airbus Flight Academy Europe said, “The choice of the Elixir Aircraft is fully in line with the global strategy of sustainable development aiming at a progressive decarbonisation of the training delivered by Airbus Flight Academy Europe.”
The Elixir’s low environmental impact features include low fuel consumption and reduced noise pollution. The aircraft also includes safety features such as a parachute and a fuel tank with anti-explosion foam.
New French manufacturer Elixir Aircraft is to supply four its new two-seat training aircraft to AFAE
During the ceremony celebrating the opening of the new facility, Airbus confirmed that Volotea, a Barcelona-based airline, will be recruiting eleven of their newly graduated cadets to begin flying for them in April-May this year.
Carlos Muñoz, CEO Volotea, said, “This is a very important day for Volotea, as we are taking cadets directly from the Airbus Flight Academy Europe for the first time. We’re all very excited by it as we know the programme quality is of a very high standard.
“Our company keeps growing our Airbus fleet, and we’re going to be needing many more pilots. We certainly hope this is the beginning of a very successful long-term partnership with the Airbus Flight Academy benefitting many young pilots.”
