On May 16, 2022, 16 students graduated from the Latvian airline’s airBaltic Pilot Academy, receiving a commercial pilot license upon completion of the full-time airline transport pilot program. In addition, already the 12th group of nine students began their professional pilot studies.
Transport Minister Talis Linkaits, congratulating graduates and new students of the academy: “The aviation sector is back to its regular operations it had before the pandemic crisis. Thus, in the coming years, demand for pilots and other aviation professionals will only grow”.
The minister underscored that Riga is being developed as the central aviation hub in the Baltic states and airBaltic has become a significant market player in Europe, therefore well-trained personnel is one of the key factors in retaining these positions.
Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “This is the largest graduation ceremony we have seen so far at the airBaltic Pilot Academy. It marks a significant milestone for the program, which has so far prepared a total of 42 commercial pilots. We also congratulate the young and determined students of the 12th group who started their studies today.”
The new group of students is the first to start studies under the new improved payment structure. Students of the airBaltic Pilot Academy will now have to cover the costs of studies until obtaining a private pilot licence level, costing approximately EUR 15 000. After passing airBaltic pilot assessment and becoming an employee of the company, the airline will provide financing for the rest of the studies.
Overall, there are now 72 active students at airBaltic Pilot Academy. Most of the students are from Baltic countries, however, there are students also from other EU countries such as Germany, France, Finland, Spain and Italy among others. More than 10% of airBaltic Pilot Academy students are female.
airBaltic in brief:
airBaltic (Air Baltic Corporation AS) connects the Baltic region with over 70 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS. Over the last 25 years airBaltic has developed as a strong, profitable and internationally respected airline. airBaltic is by far the best known international brand of Latvia and responsible for more than 2.5% of the Latvian GDP. airBaltic operates 34 Airbus A220-300 aircraft. airBaltic has received numerous international awards for excellence and innovative services. Skytrax has awarded Latvian airline airBaltic a five–star COVID-19 safety rating. In addition, airBaltic is one of the Top twenty airlines for COVID-19 compliance by the safety, product, and COVID-19 rating agency Airlineratings.com. In 2018 and 2019 airBaltic received the ATW Airline Industry Achievement Award as the Market Leader of the Year. In addition, in 2019 airBaltic received Sector Leadership Award by Airline Business. airBaltic is a joint stock company that was established in 1995. Its primary shareholder is the Latvian state, which holds 97.03% of the stock, while the rest of the shareholders hold 2.97%.
Aviation industry indirectly provides close to 30 000 jobs in Latvia, while millions of people transfer through Riga, yet many more arrive to Latvia. Each year foreign tourists spend more than EUR 750 million in Latvia. Find out more: https://blog.airbaltic.com/airbaltic-an-asset-for-the-national-economy-of-latvia/.
airBalticTraining, a subsidiary of airBaltic, is a training facility offering a wide range of aviation training services in its modern and purpose-built training centre in Riga, Latvia. It was established in 2010 and since then each year provides training to approximately 3 000 professionals from across the world – more than 1 500 pilots, almost 1 000 cabin crew members and several hundred of ground handlers, cargo agents, security personnel and others.
