Pilots’ academy push will help lift services
- Collaboration between Hong Kong and mainland China on flight training programmes aims to address manpower shortage
Headwinds continue to batter the city’s efforts to reclaim its status as a global aviation hub and welcome back more tourists despite the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. A worldwide shortage of ground and in-flight staff is a primary reason services have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
So it was encouraging to learn last week that aviation officials are taking steps to expand the pool of pilots for the future by initiating collaboration between Hong Kong and mainland China on flight training programmes.
The Airport Authority applied for Civil Aviation Department approval to establish the expanded programme to be run by the International Aviation Academy, which was set up in 2016 as the city’s first training centre for commercial pilots. The authority will work with Hong Kong Airlines on the project, and universities in the city will partner with flying schools on the mainland and overseas, according to academy president Simon Li Tin-chui, who said this would open “a new chapter for local commercial flying training”.
Relatively high costs have long pushed airlines to send pilots abroad to earn their wings, but academy expansion to boost cooperation with the mainland may improve quality and streamline cross-border aviation policies given the city’s adherence to international aviation standards. There are also other efforts to address a shortage of manpower.
The Greater Bay Area youth aviation industry internship expects to sign up as many as 450 people by the end of the year. The government recently promised to carry out an airport manpower survey and devise measures to tackle the lack of ground staff.
Money was also earmarked for a Maritime and Aviation Training Fund to provide smart logistics and other support.
Hong Kong Airlines aims to hire 1,000 more employees, including 120 pilots, by the end of the year. Cathay Pacific hopes to hire 400 cadet pilots by the same target date and to train another 1,000 by 2025.
Mainland carriers are also on a hiring spree, especially for cabin crew as domestic travel recovers, and airlines are voicing optimism about a strong market by next year. An expanded academy may not take off soon enough to fill short-term needs, but should help minimise industry turbulence in years ahead.
