By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Pilots of civil airlines will be able to receive flight training here without visiting overseas facilities, as a training center will be set up in Incheon.
Boeing will set up an aviation training center in the Incheon Free Economic Zone costing 20 billion won ($16.4 million), together with Korean Air, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, Tuesday.
They will jointly operate the center after Alteon, an affiliate of the American aircraft maker, buys 28,495 square meters of land there and Korean Air constructs the facilities.
The Seattle-based Alteon offers education and training programs to airlines all around the world. Pilots of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have received training at their own education centers through Alteon's programs since December 2001, while those employed by other budget carriers have had training at other overseas facilities, mainly in Singapore and China.
The center will educate pilots with flight simulators, which cost 10 to 20 billion won per machine. Boeing is considering preparing three simulators, one of which will be for the B787, a next-generation aircraft that is being developed. Korean Air will adopt another simulator for the A380, a super jumbo jet made by Airbus, a ministry official said.
Boeing will sign memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korean Air at the end of the month, and with the free economic zone authority in September regarding the land purchase. The construction is likely to begin in November for the opening in August next year.
``Pilots have to receive training regularly. The demand for training has increased a lot in recent years following the establishment of low cost carriers, but pilots of the airlines had to be trained at overseas training centers due to lack of facilities. The new center will help them save costs and time in training,'' the official said.