Cabin Crew Preview: Kerry Mitchell on Immersive Training at EATS 2026

At this year’s European Aviation Training Summit (3–5 November, Cascais, Portugal), Kerry Mitchell of AirTanker will return to the Cabin Crew Conference Stream with Cabin Crew Training Versus Reality – Preparing the Next Generation. Her question is one every cabin crew trainer recognizes: how do you get trainees from knowing the theory to feeling what a real situation is like?

In a preview conversation with Anna Mellberg Karlsson, Cabin Crew Training Manager at SAS Connect and moderator of the Cabin Crew Stream, Mitchell explained that this year’s focus is human factors in training. Passing exams and assessments is only part of the job. The real goal is immersing trainees in the situations they will face on the aircraft, and finding out how technology can help.

Mitchell first introduced the project at last year’s EATS. Asked whether she now has the answer, she was candid: not yet, but the work is moving forward. AirTanker has been exploring virtual reality and is seeking regulatory approval for its use, a process still underway.

Her session is aimed at training managers and anyone who instructs cabin crew. The challenge she wants the audience to take home is a practical one: how can you create that sense of being in the real situation inside a classroom, without taking trainees onto an aircraft or into a training hall?

Ready to delve into more Cabin Crew Training insights? Join us at EATS, 3–5 November at the Estoril Congress Centre in Cascais, Portugal, and explore the Cabin Crew Conference Stream. Register below.