Oman Air inaugurates its first flight training centre

Muscat: Oman Air opened its first Flight Training Centre (OAFTC) on Thursday.
The state-of-the-art facility is equipped with a Boeing 737 flight simulator and a full motion Airbus A330 simulator, where cabin crews are trained for emergencies, such as when aircraft land in the sea, along with deploying escape slides to train for evacuations, among other emergencies.
Oman Air crews will no longer be sent abroad for training, but will train in Oman, in a bid to reduce expenses .
“From now on Oman Air will not send crews abroad and spend foreign currencies in other countries, because we can keep the Omani rial, with an investment of OMR3 million, in the country,” said Oman Air CEO Paul Gregorowitsch.
The facility is also open for other airlines to send cockpit crews for training.
“We can earn money because the capacity is there to train crews from the other airlines,” he added.
Darwish Ismail Al Balushi, Minister Responsible for Finance Affairs and Chairman of Oman Air, commented at the opening about the importance of OAFTC to Oman Air and the Sultanate.
“Oman Air’s investment in this training facility will add an important milestone in the airline’s contribution towards the development of the Sultanate,” said Al Balushi.
Vital role
“As Oman Air’s fleet and network expansion program continues, OAFTC will play an increasingly important role in our company’s operation,” he added.
By 2020, Oman Air plans to open 75 routes worldwide, while operating a fleet of 70 aircraft.
He spoke about Oman Air’s expansion, and its impact upon the Winter 2016/2017 schedule and Summer 2017 schedule.
“Having launched many attractive and popular destinations over recent months, we look forward to further expanding the airline’s network in the course of the Winter 2016/2017 and Summer 2017 schedules. Perhaps the most notable of these will be Guangzhou, China, which will start December 9,” said Al Balushi.
He added, “A major highlight of our Summer 2017 schedule will be our daily flights to Manchester, complementing the twice-daily service we currently offer to London.