Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland

This is what it takes to become an Aer Lingus pilot

12 new cadets for the latest course were chosen from 3,000 applications.

THREE THOUSAND PEOPLE applied to become Aer Lingus recruits – and just 12 made it to the final stage for the latest round of training.

Aer Lingus welcomed its newest group of recruits today, who will all be taking part in its pilot cadetship programme.

The 12 who made it through come from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Germany.

So, what’s in store for them?

The training course is 14 months long, and will kick off at the end of this month with flight training organisation FTEJerez, in Jerez, Spain.

They won’t be in the air straight away – first, they will undertake five months of ground school. That will be followed by basic flying on single and multi-engine aircraft and aircraft simulators.

Then the cadets will make their way back to Dublin for more training, which will include:

  • An airline transition course
  • Further simulator training
  • Safety training

When they’ve successfully completed all of that, cadets will receive their wings and begin to fly the airline’s fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.

Last May, 20 cadets became fully-fledged Aer Lingus co-pilots and are now flying the airline’s short haul European routes.

This is the third Aer Lingus pilot cadetship programme since 2011. The airline relaunched its aircraft maintenance and engineering apprentice scheme that same year, and recently launched an IT graduate programme.

Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller wished the new recruits success and said: “We believe in investing in the future and giving young people the opportunity to enjoy long and fulfilling careers in aviation.”

Read: These are the 10 safest low-cost airlines in the world (and look who’s flying the flag for Ireland)>

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Author
Aoife Barry
View 26 comments
Close
26 Comments
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
    JournalTv
    News in 60 seconds