flydubai's New Pilot Deal Could Change How Cadets Train

Klaus Schmidt · 2026-09-18

### A Quiet Shift in Pilot Training flydubai just made a move that could ripple through the aviation world for years. The airline announced a strategic partnership with Egnatia Aviation and Skyborne Airline Academy to train its next generation of pilots. Both academies will deliver flight instruction for cadets working toward a Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL) under flydubai's Ab Initio Pilot Training Programme. If that sounds like industry jargon, here's the plain version: flydubai is building its own pilot pipeline from scratch instead of hiring ready-made pilots from the open market. ### Why This Matters for the Airline flydubai's fleet keeps growing, and with that growth comes a serious problem. There simply aren't enough qualified pilots to go around. The global pilot shortage has been simmering for years, and airlines everywhere are feeling the squeeze. So instead of waiting for the market to fix itself, flydubai is taking control. The Ab Initio programme takes cadets with little to no flying experience and turns them into licensed commercial pilots. - Cadets train through a structured MPL pathway - Instruction comes from two established European academies - The programme feeds directly into flydubai's expanding operations It's a long game, and it's a smart one. ### The Two Academies Behind the Deal Egnatia Aviation and Skyborne Airline Academy aren't random picks. Both have solid reputations for structured, airline-focused training. Egnatia operates out of Greece, while Skyborne has a strong presence in the UK and the US. Together, they'll handle the flight instruction piece, which is arguably the most demanding part of any cadet's journey. Getting a Multi-Crew Pilot Licence isn't easy. It requires hundreds of hours of training, simulator work, and rigorous assessments. > "The partnership supports flydubai's long-term strategy to build a more sustainable pipeline of skilled pilots for its expanding fleet." That quote sums up the whole idea. It's not about filling seats next month. It's about making sure flydubai has pilots ready five, ten years down the road. ### What This Means for the Broader Industry Airlines around the world are watching moves like this closely. The old model of poaching pilots from competitors is getting expensive and unreliable. Building your own training pipeline takes time, but it creates loyalty and consistency. For cadets, this is genuinely good news. Programmes like this often come with clearer career paths, structured mentorship, and a direct line to a job at the end. That's rare in an industry where uncertainty is the norm. ### The Bigger Picture flydubai isn't the first airline to invest heavily in training, and it won't be the last. But the timing here is notable. With global travel demand climbing and aircraft deliveries picking up, the pressure to have pilots ready is real. This partnership is a bet on the future. A bet that flydubai can grow without getting stuck waiting for talent that may never show up. If it works, other airlines will likely follow the same playbook. And that could reshape how the entire industry thinks about pilot development for years to come.