Netherlands flag carrier, Air France-KLM, and Germany’s flag carrier, Lufthansa, announced their latest flight cancellations due to staff shortage. KLM plans to cancel 20 roundtrips flights to European destinations daily until the end of August while Lufthansa will cancel 770 flights starting this week.
The measures are designed to “calm” operational stress on staff at the airport and within the airline, KLM said in a statement.
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Totaling nearly $1.2 million, these Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA) Foundation scholarships will help high school students and teachers, aspiring pilots, pilots seeking advanced ratings, and those pursuing aviation maintenance or other aerospace careers reach their aviation goals.
Each scholarship aims to help individuals cover the cost of training for a private, sport, or recreational pilot certificate or to provide funds for advanced ratings and certificates. These scholarships are awarded annually by the AOPA Foundation; the 2022 awards include the largest group of recipients and the most scholarship funds distributed to date.
“These scholarships change lives and we are grateful to the donors who make them possible,” said Elizabeth Tennyson, senior vice president of the AOPA Foundation and You Can Fly. “This year’s scholarship winners were selected from among more than 4,000 applicants and include high school students, teachers, and people of all ages who want to learn to fly or grow their skills. It’s a talented and committed group of recipients and I can’t wait to see what they achieve.”
The AOPA Foundation is the philanthropic arm of AOPA. Contributions to this 501(c)(3) charitable organization fund programs that AOPA membership dues don’t cover, like the content distributed by the AOPA Air Safety Institute and the initiatives of the You Can Fly program. The AOPA Foundation also annually distributes flight training scholarships—funds that ease the financial burden of flight training, helping student pilots succeed and ultimately adding to the pilot population.
Alaina Arnold is one upcoming addition who is supported through the AOPA Foundation Breitling Aviation Scholarship. An accomplished academic and professional, her undergraduate studies focused on criminal justice, anthropology, and American Sign Language, and she has a master’s degree in law. Arnold has spent the last decade in law enforcement, but a lifelong curiosity about aviation led to a discovery flight and from there, Arnold said, “The moment we took to the sky, I knew: This is what I was meant to do. I didn’t know when or where, but I knew one day I would become a pilot.”
“Making the leap and pursuing a new career path isn’t something I took lightly, but having the ability to live and work anywhere is invaluable,” Arnold said. And the scholarship provided her the opportunity to start flight training immediately, as opposed to delaying due to the financial factors. “AOPA was the most useful resource I found, both in terms of scholarships and aviation in general.”
The flight training scholarship program would not be possible without donations to the AOPA Foundation. One very generous contributor is the Ray Foundation. Founded by the late James C. Ray, an aviator, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, the Ray Foundation has contributed $1 million to the AOPA Foundation in 2022 to fund flight training scholarships for high school students and teachers. This year 100 scholarships worth $10,000 each were awarded for the purpose of obtaining a private pilot certificate.
Bitanya Gudeta is one recipient of the AOPA Foundation You Can Fly High School Flight Training Scholarship, a Ray Foundation-funded award. Gudeta just graduated from Eastland Career Center in Groveport, Ohio, a technical school designed to guide students into career and educational paths with over 40 programs. She was in the aviation program, a decision spurred by her love for flight and an interest in being a part of aviation’s accomplishments. While at Eastland Career Center, Gudeta was able to practice flying in simulators, obtain her drone certification, and even pass her private knowledge test. “My final goal is to become an airline pilot,” Gudeta said. “This fall I am going to be attending the Ohio State University, where I’ll get my remaining licenses.”
On June 17, Gudeta had an opportunity to go for a discovery flight at Fairfield County Airport. “It was pretty wonderful,” Gudeta said. “I am really excited for this next step.”
And though Gudeta is just getting started, some recipients are well on the way to certification. Seventeen-year-old Logan Harden first encountered aviation in 2016 on an EAA Young Eagles flight and has already started flight training. “The scholarship has allowed me to accelerate my studies and training,” Harden said. “I have been able to purchase tools, software, and educational materials to help me understand all of the rules and regulations. I have also been able to fly every day, sometimes twice a day.”
But the scholarship is more than just a monetary relief for Harden—it also provides an opportunity to inspire others. “I am a congenital amputee of the right hand, meaning I was born with only my left hand,” Harden explained. “I’ve been different from everyone else all my life and I want to prove that anyone can do anything as long as they give it their all. I also want to inspire the next generation to learn more about the world of aviation. Stories of one-handed pilots are far too few, and this is something that needs to change. After becoming a private pilot, I want to encourage other amputees to have faith in themselves and their dreams.”
Ultimately, what brings all the scholarship recipients together is a passion for flight. “I enjoy flying because there really is nothing else like it,” Harden said. “The world of aviation offers endless possibilities, and what you choose to do after receiving a pilot’s certificate, well…the sky’s the limit.”
Source: AOPA Press Release
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On Saturday 2nd July, Fantasy Wings held their Annual Conference at St Mary’s Venue in Central London. 600 Fantasy Wings Participants attended the event which was hosted by Fantasy Wing founder Jackson Smith. The event was held to mark the end of the 2021 – 2022 cohort of Fantasy Wings Participants and is aimed at increasing diversity in the Aviation Industry.
Participants were treated to a day of talks from industry leaders who shared their experiences with the attentive crowd including Lisa Tremble (Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at British Airways), David Geer (Senior Vice President Operations at Virgin Atlantic), Derek Haynes (Senior Captain Virgin Atlantic), Chris Brown (Training Captain & Examiner EasyJet) and a host of inspirational Captains, First Officers and Instructors.
FTA Global’s very own Sean Jacob spoke to the audience about the dedication and commitment required to complete your flight training to the room of diverse aviation lovers who will, in no doubt, become the next generation of industry leaders.
FTA were delighted to award this year’s FTA & Fantasy Wings Bursary to Jordon Smith in recognition to his drive and determination to become a pilot. FTA also reaffirmed discounts across it’s entire package of professional pilot training courses to all Fantasy Wings Participants to try and assist diverse and under-represented social groups overcome the high financial barrier to entry that the aviation industry has placed on it’s pilots of tomorrow. Additionally, Sean Jacob announced that next year, FTA will commit to providing £30,000 worth of Bursaries to Fantasy Wing’s participants in the form of three £10,000 awards.
Sean Jacob, Managing Director, FTA says “We are a flight school open to all, providing opportunities to students of all nationalities, from a variety of backgrounds. We’re delighted to award the FTA & Fantasy Wings Bursary to Jordan Smith for his drive and determination to become a pilot as well as our continued discount across our entire spectrum of training provision to all Fantasy Wings Participants, new and old, to increase the diversity of our industry and go some way to break down the huge financial barrier to entry that is place on its future pilots. We hope this opens up even more opportunities for women and those in underrepresented communities to access more training and jobs in the commercial airline industry.”
Jackson Smith, Founder and Managing Director, Fantasy Wings, says “Our partnership with FTA is a key step in the right direction when it comes to addressing a number of important barriers to diversity within the Pilot / Aviation industry. Fantasy Wings was created to address the lack of diversity and inclusivity within the Airline Pilot / Aviation sector. We provide young people with crucial insight and knowledge development that allows them to go off and have successful and satisfying careers within the industry. It is great that through our partnership with FTA, our young people will have some of the financial restraints of training eased which is a key step forward in making the industry more diverse and representative. We look forward to this being a long and successful partnership between FTA and Fantasy Wings’
Source – FTA Global announcement
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The US based Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) awarded $10,000 flight training scholarships to two Alliance Academy student pilots.
Monish Patil and Michael Reneslacis were among the 80 flight training students across US selected by AOPA to be given the said scholarship that could help them earn a private pilot license (PPL).
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