Hong Kong’s Airport Authority seeks green light for academy to launch first training programme for local, mainland China pilots
- Hong Kong International Aviation Academy has joined with Hong Kong Airlines to offer programme
- They plan to partner with local universities and flying schools over border and overseas
The Airport Authority has applied for approval to run a pilot training programme that would extend over the border, a move analysts say would further boost collaboration between Hong Kong and mainland China, as well as help the city expand its role as an aviation hub.
The academy and the carrier signed a memorandum of understanding last week, with the airport authority saying it was pursuing ways to build a pool of future pilots for the city and the rest of the nation.
“By partnering with Hong Kong Airlines, [the academy] expects a substantial increase in the number of pilots and aims to make a significant contribution to the aviation industry in Hong Kong and the mainland,” the authority earlier in the week said.
The academy planned to partner with Hong Kong universities as well as flying schools on the mainland and overseas, according to academy president Simon Li Tin-chui. Graduates can apply for jobs as second officers with the local carrier.
“The signing of the MOU is a critical milestone that marks a new chapter for local commercial flying training and provides potential entrants with an additional option to receive cadet pilot training in Hong Kong,” Li said.
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On Thursday, Law Cheung-kwok, a senior adviser at Chinese University’s Aviation Policy and Research Centre, told the Post that Hong Kong Airlines was outsourcing its training programme to the academy, which would coordinate training with local institutions and flight schools.
The initiative marked the first potential close collaboration between Hong Kong and mainland flight training schools.
“That the aviation academy will try to have partnerships with flying schools on the mainland, that is definitely a positive step to integrate into the aviation sector in Guangdong province, because previously we didn’t have this kind of cooperative training arrangement,” Law said.
But he remained cautious over whether Hong Kong would become a training ground for mainland pilots, noting the cost to do so was lower over the border.
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Shukor Yusof, founder of aviation advisory firm Endau Analytics, agreed the new academy would allow for closer collaboration between Hong Kong and the mainland on pilot training and, in the future, streamlining of aviation policies.
“Hong Kong has very high aviation standards, based on the United Kingdom system. This will lend credibility to future aviators trained by the [Airport Authority and academy] and provide a reservoir for flight crews,” Yusof said.
Jae Woon Lee, an expert on aviation law and policy at Chinese University, said the opportunities in aviation available to the city extended beyond its role as a connecting point.
“This kind of pilot training programme can strengthen Hong Kong’s role in various aspects of aviation,” Lee said.
The authority set up the academy in 2016, the first in the city dedicated to training pilots for the commercial sector.
Other cross-border programmes, such as the Greater Bay Area youth aviation industry internship, which is being organised by the academy and mainland institutions, are due to be launched by the end of this year, with 300 to 450 students expected to join.
Hong Kong Airlines previously operated a cadet programme before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. The airline is expected to reach 75 per cent of pre-pandemic capacity by the end of this year and intends to hire 1,000 more employees, of which 120 would be pilots.
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The pilot training programme is the second such scheme in the city. Cathay Pacific Airways signed a three-year deal with Polytechnic University last September to collaborate on a new course for the airline’s cadet pilot training programme.
Cathay aimed to hire 400 cadet pilots by the end of this year, making up the bulk of 700 pilots the airline intended to hire.
The carrier said it hoped to train more than 1,000 cadet pilots by 2025.
