Take off Pilot academy opens halls for high-flying trainees
ANEW accommodation block for trainee airline pilots has been opened in Cheltenham. Young people hoping to one day take control of huge jet planes are moving into the new centre in Lansdown Road.
The town’s MP Alex Chalk formally opened the 84-bedroom site on Friday on behalf of Skyborne Airline Academy, an airline training school based at Gloucestershire Airport.
The centre will be a home away from home for those beginning Skyborne’s Integrated Airline Transport Pilot Licence course. Some students will be from as far away as Malta and South Africa.
Each trainee will have their own ensuite bedroom, with kitchens, laundry facilities and large common rooms available for group study or to wind down after flying.
Ian Cooper, Skyborne’s chief operating officer, said: “The opening of our new accommodation centre marks a real milestone for Skyborne.
“Cheltenham is such a great place to study and live, and the accommodation is only a five-minute walk to the town centre.
“It’s really exciting to see our stu
Finding out the halls of residence would be named after us is a really nice gesture by Skyborne, and the news took us all by surprise James Kirk, left
dents already starting to explore all the local area has to offer.”
In recognition of their achievements, each of the halls of residence are named after trainees and graduates from the academy’s first course which began in April 2019. They include Christopher Coles, Dave Fisher, Alisha Jassar, James Kirk, Matt Langridge and Adam Prince.
James Kirk said: “Finding out the halls of residence would be named after us is a really nice gesture by Skyborne,
and the news took us all by surprise. I loved living in Cheltenham during my pilot training and the new accommodation is in a perfect place for future students. There’s so much going on nearby and it’s really enjoyable to fly from Gloucestershire Airport.”
Skyborne also has a base at Vero Beach in Florida in the United States.
In January 2019, the company was named as a leading training provider for Indigo, India’s largest passenger airline.