Ethiopian Graduates 17 Multinational Pilots - 31 May, 2011

Ethiopian Airlines Aviation Academy, Pilot Training School has graduated 17 Pilots on Thursday May 26, 2011. Among the graduates are: nine Ethiopians, seven Mozambicans and one Ugandan. The ceremony was held at the Ethiopian Airlines Headquarters.

During their stay at the center, the graduates have successfully completed the two years Commercial Pilot Training courses including 695:00 hours of classroom and 200:00 hours of practical flights training on single and multi-engine aircraft.

Ethiopian CEO Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam addressed the gathering and handed over the diplomas and awards to top performing graduates. Mr. GebreMariam congratulated the graduates and announced that Ethiopian plans to invest heavily on the aviation academy with capacity to train hundreds of Pilots and more aviation personnel.

Established in 1964, the Ethiopian Aviation Academy Pilot Training School has so far graduated 934 pilots out of which 609 are Ethiopians and 325 are foreign nationals from 37 different countries.

The Academy offers training courses for Pilots, Maintenance Technicians, Cabin Crew and Marketing and sales personnel. As part of the company’s interest to expand the capacity of the school and the airline’s 15 years vision, the Pilot Training School has recently purchased ten DA40NG modern Pilot Training aircrafts from Austrian Diamond Aircraft manufacturing Company. It also plans to acquire B787 Dreamliner and Q-400 Aircraft simulators in the near future.

The Ethiopian Aviation Academy offers training packages for qualified and private individuals who wish to study in the various fields offered by the academy.

For more information about the Ethiopian Aviation Academy, please contact the Pilot Training School at (+251- 11) 517-87-37.

About Ethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines, one of the largest and fastest growing airlines in Africa, made its maiden flight to Cairo in 1946. With the addition of new flight services to Milan Ethiopian will provide dependable services to 62 international destinations spanning four continents.

Recently, Ethiopian won the 2011 "AFRICAN CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR" Award for its excellence in air cargo. Ethiopian won the NEPAD Transport Infrastructure Excellence Awards 2009 and the 2009 "Airline of the Year" award from the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). In August, 2008, Ethiopian won "the 2008 Corporate Achievement Award" of Aviation & Allied Business for setting the pace towards the development and growth of the African aviation industry. Ethiopian is also the first African carrier to win the 2008 Brussels Airport Company Award in recognition of its distinguished long haul operations witnessed through the introduction of new routes, new products, and close cooperation with Brussels Airport in marketing activities.