Pakistan International Airline (PIA) acquired an Airbus A320 flight simulator from a UK-based company named L3Harris.
Pakistan’s national flag bearer signed the contract at a simple ceremony held in Islamabad on Monday. The ceremony was attended by the United Kingdom’s ambassador in Pakistan, regional director of L3 company, and secretary of aviation.
The all-electric motion system will be helpful in training 400 plus pilots, checking their skills, and reducing the cost of training of pilots as the airlines had to spend a significant amount of money to train their pilots overseas.
The simulator will also assist the PIA in providing training to pilots from other countries as well and will most likely be installed at PIA’s training center Jinnah International Airport.
Currently, the national flag carrier operates 11 Airbus A 320 aircraft, while that number of A320 aircraft is expected to increase to 15 by April 2022.
Pakistan’s national air carrier had signed a contract with L-3 UK Ltd to provide an Airbus A320 flight simulator on Saturday which was revealed by a press release issued by the British High Commission in Islamabad. The agreement was signed between Pakistan International Airline’s chief executive officer and president of UK-based L3Harris.
“CEO PIA Air Marshal (R) Arshad Malik said it’s a big day for PIA and Pakistan Aviation as they have achieved a key milestone,” said the statement. “PIA as the national flag carrier always operates in the national interest. This is the most modern and the latest machine in the region and will bolster training standards for the Pakistani pilots as well as contribute to the overall flight safety spectrum of the country.”
The purchase of a simulator, according to sources, will be a landmark achievement for the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA).
A senior aviation official said that the simulator makes the training of pilots efficient and affordable and important to train student pilots. Further adding that training pilots is costly and time-consuming, so a simulator would be an efficient and affordable solution to the looming pilot shortage and training.