EFTA expands pilot pipeline

Emirates Flight Training Academy (EFTA) has trained over 120 graduates who are now flying full-time for the airline, and a further 290 are currently going through training.

Among those are cadets from 23 countries, including 27 women.

EFTA, which was started with a focus on the national cadet pilot programme for Emirates, now offers their world-class training to cadets from all over the globe.

The academy has integrated three brand-new Diamond aircraft into its training programme.

Although the majority are students who’ve recently graduated from high school, the cadets range in age from 17 to 26 years. In fact, an Emirates cabin crew is now a cadet at EFTA, having met the academy’s strict eligibility criteria.

Divisional Vice President Emirates Flight Training Academy Captain Abdulla Al Hammadi said: “EFTA is fully focused on establishing a reliable stream of pilots for the aviation industry, which has been staring at scarcity in the short to the long term, and giving aspiring cadets a visionary academy based in an iconic and one of the safest cities that is also one of the largest aviation hubs on the planet.

EFTA training

“We offer one of the most sophisticated cadet training programmes, delivered by our 50+ highly skilled instructors, and backed by the exceptional standards and governance set by Emirates, the world’s largest international airline. It’s inspiring to see the camaraderie and collaboration among our cadets as they graduate real-world ready with the highest levels of skills and competencies required by commercial pilots.”

EFTA’s cadets fly the Diamond DA42-VI light piston twin-engine aircraft, which has successfully introduced multi-engine piston training at the academy.

This means cadets train on three different aircraft types – single-engine, twin-engine and multi-engine light jets. This is a rarity among flight training academies that generally train cadets on just one or two aircraft types.

At the Dubai Airshow, EFTA will be showcasing its Diamond DA42-VI and Cirrus SR22 aircraft with instructors on hand to share information about the academy’s fleet and cadet training programme.

Emirates launched EFTA in 2017 to train UAE nationals and international students with no previous knowledge of flying. All graduates have the opportunity to go through Emirates’ recruitment process.