Air Astana officially commissioned its new flight training centre at Astana International Airport on 8 September, becoming the first training facility in Central Asia to be certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The new training centre is equipped with the latest generation flight simulators that meet international standards, and over 500 pilots from the airline will undertake training at the new facility, which will be open round the clock.

Air Astana said the centre is designed to enhance the training capabilities locally within Kazakhstan and to avoid the previous need to send pilots overseas for training. The launch of the new training centre also underscores the airline’s commitment to ESG principles, which include ensuring flight safety and promoting environmental and social sustainability within the air transport industry.

Air Astana has also invested in state–of–the–art simulators for different aircraft evacuation and firefighting situations for in-house training of both flight attendants and pilots. The group’s goal is to hire an additional 100 pilots and a similar number of flight attendants per year for the next 5 years. 

“The opening of Air Astana’s new Flight Training Centre demonstrates a strategic commitment to ensuring the very highest standards of flight personnel performance and also enhance the steady flow of new entrants into Kazakhstan’s air transport industry as it grows in the future,” said Peter Foster, president of the Air Astana Group.

“I am confident that the new facility will not only prove to be a highly cost-effective resource for Air Astana, but also result in Kazakhstan becoming a regional leader in flight training.”