In response to the huge and growing demand for pilots from European airlines, Perth airport, Scotland-based ACS Aviation is to invest over £2 million in additional flight simulators and twin-engine training aircraft, taking its fleet to over 20 and making it the largest training academy in the country.

The expansion of the business has resulted in a three-fold increase in the ACS Aviation workforce from 13 to 40 over the past three years and a forecasted uplift in turnover from £1.9 million to £2.4 million for the year ending 31 March.

“Europe accounts for 34 per cent of global air traffic and, according to Boeing projections, this will grow by 113 per cent by 2037, meaning the demand for pilots is only set to increase,” says CEO Graeme Frater. “With that in mind we have focused on increasing our flight training capabilities over the past year and, thanks to our industry leading fleet and training concepts, this has resulted in a 40 per cent uplift in the number of pilots trained.

“Since we launched our flight training academy in 2007 we have successfully developed relationships with a number of European airlines including easyJet, Loganair, Jet2.com, Eastern Airways and Stobart Air, and we aim to grow this portfolio over the next 12 months.

“Moving forward we are not only looking to grow our engineering and flight training services at Perth airport but we are also in talks with several other airports about expanding our aviation operations across the UK.”

To help with this expansion, ACS is working closely with Scottish Enterprise on several projects including aircraft engineering modern apprenticeships and graduate opportunities. Acknowledging the capital outlay that is required to train pilots, the business has also introduced a limited number of flight instructor sponsorships and flying scholarships.

ACS will be hosting Scotland's next Pilot Careers and Flight Training Seminar at Glasgow airport. The event is aimed at educating and inspiring young people towards a career as a commercial airline pilot and will featuring airlines such as Jet2.com, Flybe and Loganair. Frater adds: “The demand for pilots is growing rapidly worldwide and airlines are increasingly looking for new staff for their cockpits. We know that there are many budding pilots out there who are perhaps unsure how to pursue a career in aviation, so we thought the best way would be to bring everyone involved in the industry together at one event. Our previous two flight training seminars have been extremely popular and I am sure the 2020 event will be just as successful.”