Construction of Airbus-SIA training centre underway

CONSTRUCTION has started on a new Airbus Asia Training Centre (AATC) in Singapore, a joint venture between Airbus and Singapore Airlines (SIA), which is slated for completion in the first quarter of next year.

The new facility at Seletar Aerospace Park will offer type rating and recurrent training courses for all Airbus aircraft types currently in production. It will feature eight full flight simulators, for aircraft such as the A350, A330 and A320. It will have the capacity to train over 10,000 people annually from across the Asia Pacific.

Airbus has a 55 per cent stake in the joint venture and SIA holds the remaining 45 per cent.

The 9,250 square metre facility will be the fourth Airbus flight training centre worldwide, after Toulouse, Miami and Beijing.

Until the centre is ready, AATC offers courses out of temporary facilities at the SIA Training Centre near Changi Airport, with one A380 and two A330 simulators. Initially, instructors will come from Airbus and SIA, although there are plans to recruit additional headcount in the coming months. It aims to have about 50 instructors and 25 support staff in all.

SIA's senior vice-president (flight operations), Captain Gerard Yeap, said: "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."

"We are pleased to be adding Singapore to our network of flight training centres," said Didier Lux, head of customer services for 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."