Emirates invests US$135 million in new pilot training centre

An Emirates Boeing 777 in flight.
Photo Credit: Emirates
Lewis Chesworth 5 Min Read
5 Min Read

LONDON – Emirates has announced today it has invested a whopping US$135 million in a brand new pilot training facility.

The advanced facility will feature 6 Full Flight Simulator Bays (FFS) for the airline’s upcoming Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X fleet.

The site will measure 63,318 sq. ft. and is expected to open in March 2024. Adding to this the new facility will be located next to the existing Emirates training facilities.

His Highness Sheik Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive Emirates Airline and Group, said: “This US$135 million investment to build a new pilot training centre will ensure Emirates’ readiness to commence pilot training ahead of the delivery of its new aircraft fleet starting from 2024.”

“The building will be equipped with the latest, technologically advanced simulators to provide the best pilot training for pilots, while using solar power to reduce energy consumption”.

Emirates shared a digital render of the proposed new facility which looks as follows:

Image Credit: Emirates

Plenty of benefits


The new facility’s location next to existing training facilities will allow ease of access between each building for pilots that may be cross-rated on two types.

This will be particularly handy for pilots who will be trained on both the A350 and A380 thanks to Airbus’ cockpit commonality throughout its range of aircraft.

In addition, pilot trainees will have the benefit of being able to set up and configure the each flight simulator to their own liking, using special devices as part of the pilot training module.

Plus, pilots will be able to upload the data of required for their training session prior to the session begin for easier use of the FFS.

This feature is in fact a one of a kind concept for flight simulators and it could be possible we see this concept for new flight simulators being built for pilots of other airlines worldwide in the future.

Furthermore, the addition of this new facility will come with serious benefits for Emirates from an overall pilot training perspective.

This is because Emirates will be able to boost its total training capacity by 54% per year and when the new facility is complete in 2024 there will be a total of 17 Full Flight Simulators at the airlines disposal.

Overall, the airline will be able to offer more than 130,000 pilot training hours a year, thanks to all the benefits that come with this new facility.

The new project, as mentioned, is scheduled for completion in 2024, which will be perfectly in line with Emirates’ first deliveries of its A350s.

This completion should also land around 1 year before the airline’s first Boeing 777Xs are due for delivery in 2025 (provided no further delays occur).

Summed Up


To sum up, it is great to see Emirates taking the next step in providing the facilities their pilots require in line with their ever growing fleet.

With the facility closely located to existing flight simulator facilities, it will make for a very simplified training experience for all pilots working for the airline.

Furthermore, their flight simulators are also well located next to the other training academies Emirates offers for the other divisions of workforce it has at the company including the Emirates Flight Training Academy, Emirates Cabin Crew Training Centre and more.

This co-location of all facilities will not only make for simplified pilot training, but also simplified training across the whole company, which when it comes to an airline as large as Emirates, it is something they would want.

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