Ethiopian Aviation Academy undertaking $50 million expansion project

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (ENA) – The Ethiopian Aviation Academy said it is undertaking massive expansion project at a cost of over 50 million USD in a bid to boost its enrollment capacity, due to the ever-increasing demand for its basic and recurrent training programs from domestic and international customers.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Ethiopian Airlines Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tewolde Gebre-Mariam said the expansion work includes construction of buildings and equip the Academy with modern training aircrafts, computer based trainings, simulators, and other ultra-modern facilities. He said the expansion project will enable the Academy to be the most competitive and leading aviation training centre in Africa.

The Academy is in the process of enhancing and diversifying its training services and increasing its enrollment capacity to fulfill the demands of the Ethiopian Aviation group and from Africa and elsewhere.

Tewolde said the expansion work will also enable the Academy to meet the ever increasing training demand from other African countries. According to him, by 2025, the Academy will enroll close to half of its trainees from other countries. The Aviation Academy has set target to increase its enrollment rate by fourfold from the current 1,000 trainees per year by 2025.

The aviation training department of Ethiopian airlines was established in 1956 with the objective of providing the airline with the required skilled aviation personnel. It is this seed of the training department that has flourished into what is now Ethiopian Aviation Academy (EAA). Since its inception, the Academy has proved itself to be a center of excellence which develop skilled workforce not only for Ethiopian Airlines but also the wider African aviation industry. Driven by the Airlines’ commitment for self-sufficiency and meeting the growing demands for its training service from customers around the world, the Academy has been continuously expanded both in capacity and staffing over the years.

The Cabin Crew Training School, Marketing and Ground Operations Training School, Pilot Training School, Aviation Maintenance Technician School, Technical Recurrent Training School and Leadership Training are the six independently running training schools of the Academy.