Turkish Airlines opens new flight training center in Istanbul

Turkish Airlines has opened a new flight training center at Istanbul Atatürk Airport for its more than 4,000 pilots and 10,000 flight attendants.

The new 25,600 sq m flight training center can accommodate 2,260 crew members, increasing capacity by 48%, and will be also available for third-party business.

Turkish Airlines chairman of the board and the executive committee İlker Aycı said the opening of the new airport in Istanbul “will lead to a strong demand for well-trained flight crew. With our flight training center, we aim to encourage national, in-house training, increase our competitiveness and market share globally in terms of training, and thus contribute to the country’s economy as well.”    

The new facility will increase the number of full-flight simulators (FFSs) from 10 to 14, and the number of classrooms from 58 to 90. Ten new FFSs will soon be delivered; Turkish is targeting a total of 24 FFSs.

Turkish did not mention the aircraft types of its simulators; however, during an earlier visit to Istanbul, ATW understands it has simulators available for Airbus A320/330s and Boeing 737/777s.

Turkish has been providing flight training at Istanbul Ataturk airport since 1993.