450 New Pilots to be Trained at AFTA Creating 50 New Jobs

Biggest Ever Cork Summer Schedule Launched with 4 New Routes to Budapest, London Luton, Malta & Poznan & 20% Growth

Ryanair, Ireland’s No.1 airline, today (14 Sep) announced a major new training partnership with Cork-based international flight school, Atlantic Flight Training Academy (AFTA), to deliver a Ryanair/AFTA Mentored Pilot Programme. An Tánaiste, Simon Coveney, officially launched the partnership in Cork this morning, which will ensure Ryanair continues to attract highly trained professional pilots to support its continued growth across Europe, and which will create 50 new jobs.

This new 16-month intensive training programme gives trainee pilots a structured path to achieve their pilot licence and reach a standard where they are ready to join the Ryanair Boeing 737 type-rating programme. Trainee pilots on the programme will be trained by AFTA instructors using Ryanair procedures as they take their first steps towards becoming Ryanair pilots and over the next 5 years, up to 450 new pilots from across Europe will be recruited and trained by AFTA in Cork, underlining AFTA’s global position in the pilot training market.

Ryanair offers unparalleled career opportunities for new pilots, with:

– 86 bases across 37 countries

– Industry leading training standards and success rates

– The best rosters in European aviation – 5 days on, followed by 4 days off

– Industry leading pay of up to €200,000 p.a. as Captain

– Europe’s youngest, modern fleet which will include the state-of-the-art Boeing 737 MAX “Gamechanger”

Ryanair also launched its biggest ever Cork summer schedule for 2019, with 4 new routes to Budapest, London Luton, Malta and Poznan, more flights to Malaga, and 16 routes in total. Ryanair will deliver 1.1m customers through Cork Airport next year as it grows its Cork traffic by 20%.

In Cork, An Tánaiste, Simon Coveney, said:

“Ryanair is one of Ireland’s world class business successes and this announcement confirming the next generation of Ryanair pilots will be trained in Cork is a most welcome one. I hope many will be based in Cork when they qualify to fly on the new routes announced from Cork Airport. Atlantic Flight Training Academy has also established itself as an industry leader in training and this announcement confirms that. Finally, to the 450 trainees who will launch their careers from here, I wish you every success.”

Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kenny Jacobs, said:

“Ryanair is pleased to announce this training partnership with AFTA which has an impressive track record in training top-class pilots to the highest standards. We are also launching our Cork summer 2019 schedule, our biggest ever, with 16 routes including 4 exciting new routes to Budapest, London Luton, Malta and Poznan, further cementing our commitment to Cork and the Munster region. Our summer 2019 schedule will deliver 1.1m customers p.a. at Cork Airport (growth of 20%), all on the lowest fares, as we continue to grow Cork routes, traffic, tourism and jobs.”

Ryanair’s Head of Crew Training Captain Andy O’Shea said:

“This new Ryanair-AFTA programme will provide the airline with a steady pipeline of talented and professional pilots from around Europe to meet the needs of our growing network. Ryanair will hire up to 1,000 pilots per annum over the next 5 years and our pilots can look forward to unmatched opportunities flying with the world’s number one international airline. We have carefully chosen AFTA as our cadet training partner in Ireland due to their high standards in initial flying training and MCC training. We are very pleased to lend our operational expertise to AFTA especially in the provision of what will be an outstanding Airline Pilot Standard MCC. This combination will be the best possible preparation for an airline career with Ryanair.”

Managing Director at AFTA, Mark Casey said:

“We are delighted to be chosen as the mentored pilot programme partner for Ryanair in Ireland. AFTA has a long-standing relationship with Ryanair and a large number of our graduates currently fly as First officers, Captains, Training Captains and management pilots with the airline. The “Mentored Pilot Programme” will give successful applicants accepted on the Ryanair Mentored Pilot Programme a clear path towards a long and successful career as a Ryanair pilot.. Ryanair’s training department is recognised as the best in the industry and mentored Cadets will have access to Ryanair training applications and systems from commencement of training.”

The online application for the Ryanair-AFTA Training Programme is now open. For more information and to apply, visit www.afta.ie/ryanair