ATR Opens its First Training Center for Pilots in Africa

To support the growing number of ATR aircraft in Africa and to anticipate the associated development potential, ATR, the European manufacturer of turboprop aircraft, has just opened a new training center for pilots and maintenance technicians in Johannesburg, South Africa.

This is the very first training center to be opened by ATR on the African continent. The center is equipped with a full flight simulator, offering training possibilities for the ATR 42-300, ATR 42-500, ATR 72-200 and ATR 72-500 models.

ATR has opened this new training center to support the growth of its fleet of aircraft in mainland Africa and the India Ocean islands. 85 ATR aircraft are currently operated by 32 airlines in 20 African countries.

This new center, which is already up and running, allows ATR to offer its African and Indian Ocean island operators type and recurrent training courses for pilots for the models listed above, in addition to maintenance technician training. Operators can also hire the simulator and use their own instructors to train their pilots and maintenance teams.

To operate these new facilities, ATR formed a partnership with Comair, allowing ATR to benefit from Comair's logistics and existing equipment at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

Erik Venter, Chief Executive Officer of Comair Limited, said, “After more than ten years of training on the Boeing 737 for our pilots and for external pilots, we are happy to form this partnership to develop training on ATR aircraft using the new facilities at our operations center in Johannesburg. Our new partnership with ATR will also enable us to compliment our training programme offer.”

In addition to Johannesburg, ATR also has training centers in Toulouse, Paris, Bangkok and Toronto.

See other recent news regarding: Airlines, Airports, Awards, Flights, Codeshare, FFP, Inflight, Lounges, First Class, Business Class, MICE, GDS, Rewards, Miles, Hotels, Apartments, Promotions, Spas, Yoga, Retreat, New Hotels, Traffic, Visitor Arrivals, Cruises, Free Deals, Interviews, Videos, Tickets, Pilots, Training, ATR, Johannesburg, Simulator