GAA enters into deal with Flynas to train Airbus pilots

Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications and Gulf Aviation Academy (GAA) Chairman, Kamal Ahmed, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Flynas, a low-cost carrier in Saudi Arabia, to provide training services to its Airbus 320 pilots. The signing took place at GAA’s headquarters during the Minister’s visit to inspect a newly introduced fourth Airbus A320 Full Flight Simulator (FFS).

Flynas Chief Operating Officer, Captain Mansour Al Harbi, signed the agreement alongside the Minister in the presence of the Executive Director of Training, Captain Abdul Mohsen Al-Arifi and Training Manager Captain Fahad Al-Yahya. Commenting on the deal, Minister said: “Enhancing the efficiency of specialised training programmes is an important step in the development of the civil aviation sector and is in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goal to increase non-oil revenues.” This is the second FFS the academy has purchased during the 2018-2019 period.

The first device has been operating at maximum capacity for the past 18 months. Minister said the new equipment will allow GAA to increase its training programmes as its current A320 simulators “have been running at 100 per cent capacity for the past three years.” The expansion will also see GAA widen its geographic reach, offering services from Bahrain to a client base extending from the Indian sub-continent to Europe.

GAA Chief Executive Officer Captain Dhaffer Alabbasi, said the deal has the provision of 12,000 training hours, to be executed here in Bahrain over the next two years. “The new FFS will account for more than 80 per cent of this usage, with the remaining capacity being used to serve our other regional customers.” The new Airbus A320 Std. 2.0 NEO & CEO Full Flight Simulator is qualified to Level D by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). It is equipped with a quad-engine option allowing it to be configured to various fit-outs as per actual aircraft.

During 2018, GAA, a subsidiary of Gulf Air Group Holding, trained 6,522 agents consisting of pilots, cabin crew, engineers, security personnel, and other aviation personnel, 92 per cent of whom were trainees from outside Bahrain. Ninety per cent of all airline bookings GAA made on behalf of participants were through the national carrier, Gulf Air. 

With 19,756 hotel nights booked during the year, as well as visas and other expenditures, GAA directly contributed BD1.9 million to the Kingdom’s economy, excluding its own training fees.