Wizz Air opens new EUR 30 mln training center

The new cockpit simulator.

The Hungarian low cost carrier, and the largest discount airline in the CEE region, celebrated the opening of the 3,800 sqm faciliity yesterday in Budapest. The training center, developed by WING, is one of Europeʼs most modern in its category.

The Wizz Air Training Center features two CAE 7000XR Series simulators, modeling Airbus A320 cockpits. The center also provides trainees several pieces of fire drill equipment. In the integrated facility, both pilots and stewards are trained next to each other.

The centerʼs training program includes classroom education, flight simulation, and cabin training as well. Apart from the basic training, pilots will also take part in regularly repeated ground training, and they are also offered the opportunity to acquire different types of licenses.

The Wizz Air Training Center also houses the Wizz Air Pilot Academy, started in Hungary this September. The academy aims to help ambitious young people who cannot yet fly or have little experience acquire commercial pilot licenses, and work as a Wizz Air pilot. To start these new careers, Wizz pays a large portion of the tuition fees for students who complete certain requirements. The quality of the education is ensured by contracted pilot training organizations, according to the press release.

Wizz Air says that the center is an investment in talents who want to realize their dreams in an ultramodern facility in Budapest, whether they dream of becoming pilots or stewards. The center has enough space to host a third simulator in the future.

"Wizz Air is proud of its airplane fleet, which is exceptionally safe even at the world level, and the highly prepared staff, and hence opened its new training facility in Budapest that represents the newest technology," says József Váradi, the companyʼs CEO.