The Airbus Flight Academy Europe (AFAE) has inaugurated a new campus in Angoulême, South-West France. The Spanish carrier Volotea, based in Barcelona, will be AFAE’s first client in this new campus, recruiting the first generation of pilot cadets.

The new academy

The Airbus Flight Academy Europe has six different campuses across France, in Salon de Provence, Cognac, Avord, Lann Bihoué, Lanvéoc, and Angoulême, according to its website.

It was created in 2006 to supply the training assets and services supporting the French Air Force and French Navy pilot schools. Additionally, it is the first school to deliver the Airbus Pilot Cadet Training Programme in Europe. Airbus provides this program elsewhere, for example, Mexico.

In 2019, Airbus launched its Ab-Initio Training Program, which equips cadets with the skills and mindset required to become an “operationally ready pilot.” The Program focuses on the development of key pilot technical and behavioral competencies.

Now, the inauguration of the new facility provides AFAE with an increased capacity to train up to 200 pilot cadets at one time.

The new facility has 4.7 hectares, including a new building of approximately 3,200 square meters which will be used to train aspiring pilots with 14 classrooms, a simulator hall, an auditorium, and a restaurant.

Volotea
Photo: Volotea

Volotea, the first client

Volotea is a Spanish carrier. It has a fleet of 39 aircraft, according to data provided by ch-aviation. Its fleet is composed of 20 Airbus A319, 15 A320, and four Boeing 717-200. The airline also expects to receive four additional planes in the future.

Volotea is looking to recruit eleven of Airbus’ newly graduated pilot cadets. The cadets will join the Spanish carrier and start working as commercial airline pilots in April or May this year.

Carlos Muñoz, Volotea’s CEO, 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 program quality is of a very high standard, adapting perfectly to Volotea´s training philosophy.”

He added that the airline is growing year after year its Airbus fleet, and therefore will need many more pilots.

Volotea 2
Lille is the airline's seventh base in France as it looks to have a record summer in the country in 2022. Photo: Volotea.

Addressing the pilot shortage of the future

The COVID-19 pandemic only postponed the inevitable: there will be a shortage of pilots worldwide. According to Airbus, there will be a demand of around 550,000 new pilots over the next 20 years.

In Europe, the crisis is expected to be fierce, as the continent could need 2,300 new pilots by 2023, according to a study by Oliver Wyman. The consultant firm stated,

“In 2022, there should be more than 790 pilots missing from European airlines, and in 2023 there will be a shortage of close to 2,300 of these professionals. The Oliver Wyman study estimates that the problem will increase from year to year, reaching 2029 with the need for 3,900 pilots in European aviation alone.”

Europe is the third region in the world least affected by the lack of civil aviation pilots, behind Africa and South America. Meanwhile, the Asia/Pacific region will have a shortage of 22,670 pilots by the end of the decade, North America will need 20,600 new pilots, and the Middle East region will need 12,400 pilots.