Wizz Air begins constructing Budapest crew training centre

By the end of 2018, Wizz Air will open a new crew training centre near Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport to support plans to triple its aircraft fleet over the next decade.

The 3,800 square metre facility will feature two Airbus A320 full flight simulators from CAE equipped with the CAE Tropos 6000XR visual system as well as one fixed base simulator, a cabin emergency evacuation trainer and a real firefighting trainer device.

The carrier says the building will be created using environmentally friendly materials and will also include 14 training rooms, an office area, a large lobby and a common break room.

All the equipment will be operated and maintained by CAE as part of an exclusive 10-year training centre operations services agreement. CAE has been providing pilot training to Wizz Air for ten years, but this is the first time the airline has ordered training equipment and training services from the company.

Diederik Pen, Executive VP and COO at Wizz Air, said: “By the end of 2018, we will have an international team of over 1,000 pilots and 2,000 cabin crew being trained at this new facility on a recurring basis. As a result of Wizz Air’s expansion, these numbers could triple in 10 years. The new facility will enhance our training and recruitment capabilities and reinforce our commitment to our best-in-class training standards, whilst supporting the rapid growth of our company.”

The new centre will allow Wizz to increase its training capacity to up to 100 crew members daily. With room for additional simulators and more training rooms, the airline said this number could eventually grow to 250 crew members daily.

Elsewhere, CAE recently announced the launch of its new 600XR Series flight training device at the World Aviation Training Summit (WATS) in Orlando, Florida.