Lufthansa and Simaero on the Future of Aviation Training - EATS 2026 Preview

Ahead of the European Aviation Training Summit (EATS), taking place at the Estoril Congress Centre in Cascais, Portugal, from 3–5 November, host Andy Fawkes talks to two of this year's speakers about the changes reshaping pilot training, and why turning them into practice is the real challenge.

Gilad Scherpf, Senior Director, Aviation Training Development at Lufthansa Group, explains EASA's new FSTD Capability Signature (FCS), which comes into force in April 2028. Instead of starting with device labels such as "full flight simulator," training designers will start with the competencies a programme needs and then choose a device with the matching capabilities. This is known as the "task-to-tool" approach. Adoption is voluntary, but Gilad expects it to become the industry norm, as evidence-based training did. He also asks whether too much flexibility could cause new planning problems. 

Cédric Coffignal, Training Manager and CBTA/EBT subject matter expert at Simaero, previews his session on instructor standardisation. He describes what may be one of the first real-world tests of the EBT "outer loop": a combined Instructor Concordance Assurance Programme (ICAP) built with French airline Corsair. The programme is shared between an airline and a training organisation.

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