Live from APATS: Etihad’s Captain Stefan Dudda on Safety-Driven Pilot Training

At APATS 2025, Captain Stefan Dudda, Director of Training at Etihad Aviation Training, shared insights into Etihad’s distinctive approach to pilot development — one rooted in airline experience rather than general aviation.

“The secret of our success is we train airline pilots with airline instructors and airline personnel,” Dudda explained. “Everybody who works with us, and for us, has an airline background — not just an aviation background.”

This philosophy, he emphasised, fosters a deep sense of safety across all levels of training and operations. “No matter what level you operate at in an airline, you have to develop a sense of safety. Everything we do is to improve safety and uphold safety standards.”

Watch the full interview to learn how Etihad is building a safety-first training culture and why airline experience is central to its success.