Airways Aviation plans on creating a new aeronautical campus in Huesca, Spain. This will enable the expansion of its current pilot training, offering it to include a university degree program and air traffic control training.

Airways Aviation expects to have over 200 full time students enrolled at it’s Huesca pilot training academy by December 2018, exceeding previous expectations and bringing a positive economic impact to the local area.

Creating the Huesca Aeronautical Campus

The journey to the new aeronautical campus began 8 years ago, with the merger of Jordanian Ayla Aviation into the Airways Aviation Academy. The state of the art facility in Huesca was chosen by the Oxford-based flight training organisation as the perfect fair weather base for it’s operations in Europe.

“We are creating a new treasure in the heart of Huesca, with positive economic impact for the local area. We already have the support of the Government of Aragon, AENA and the San Jorge University, and we are very happy with the exponential growth the facility has seen since 2014”.  

–  Marwan Atalla, Executive Chairman of Airways Aviation

The decision to select Huesca as the location for Airways Aviation Academy’s Aeronautical Campus was a thorough one. Aside from the guarantee of the academy’s ability to offer the EASA (European) licence, it was vital to find the right balance of location, traffic and facilities to make the base as effective as possible. In selecting an airport, Airways Aviation was also seeking the right navigational aids, the right climate, and a lack of commercial air traffic. Lérida, Reus ad Salamanca were all considered. Huesca’s Pirineos Airport met all the criterion. The Spanish Air Force controlled most of the Zaragoza base area, and after extensive collaboration with local authorities, the first Airways Aviation aircraft arrived at the new Huesca Adacemy on 6 December 2014.

“We did a viability study based on our flight manuals. In a one hour sortie, we were able to give at least 50 minutes of tuition. That’s effectively 85% of flight time being spent on direct instruction of the student (thanks to not wasting any time in transit) The longer we fly, the more we maximize it”.

– Pedro Ortiz

A commitment to innovation

As of mid 2018, there are 8 single engine aircrafts based at the Huesca academy, alongside 3 simulators. Airways Aviation is also investing in innovative bio-powered aircraft, planned to join the fleet and operate in both the UK and Spain.

The Huesca base has grown, alongside the increase in types of training offered to students at the acdemy. Initially, only single engine flight training was offered by use of the Diamond DA-40. It was clear that to deliver the smoothest and most efficient training experience, the twin-engine DA-42 would be introduced to the base, plus a new simulator facility.

Students can complete the entire flight phase of their training at a purpose built facility, putting them in the best position to start a career with an airline. We are looking forward to welcoming more students than ever before to our academy, and training the next generation of airline pilots.

Find out more about our Huesca Academy on our website, and follow us on Facebook, twitter and Instagram for future updates on the Huesca Aeronautical Campus.

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