Major Players Focus on Flight Training at Dubai Airshow

A gathering of more than 50 aviation training leaders met in Dubai during the airshow, indicating the path forward for the region and worldwide to address pilot requirements.

Julie Boatman

Thursday, December 02, 2021 at 05:34 PM ET

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From left: Max Buerger, Alexander Alvarez, Joel Davidson, Attie Neimanna and Cristopher Magdangal Courtesy: AFM.aero

Key Takeaways:

Aviation training organizations (ATOs) experienced a disparate recovery from the pandemic, with U.S. entities quickly rebounding due to government support and milder impacts, while many global ATOs, especially in developing regions, faced significant contraction and prolonged challenges.
Despite the varied recovery, there is a strong, renewed global demand for pilots, prompting ATOs worldwide to accelerate their operations to meet this need.
A summit of flight training leaders in the UAE discussed the pandemic's effects, shared market intelligence on regional differences, and highlighted key future trends such as supply chain issues, digitization, and addressing the affordability of flight training.

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While aviation training organizations in the U.S. weathered the COVID-19 pandemic with resilience and a quick return to normal, ATOs globally have seen varying degrees of success in bouncing back from the trials induced by the near shutdown in activity during 2020. But even those greatly affected are now responding to the renewed need for pilots worldwide.

That’s just one of the takeaways from a summit of more than 50 leaders in the flight training industry gathered in the United Arab Emirates following the Dubai Airshow in November.