L3 to Expand Its U.K. Flight Training With a New Site at Cranfield Airport

L3 Commercial Aviation is expanding its U.K. Airline Academy operations with a new site at Cranfield Airport set to open in July. The location will help to increase L3’s flight training capacity for cadets across its European training programs.

“This investment will help to improve both the quality and capacity of our world-leading pilot training,” said Geoff van Klaveren, vice president of L3 Airline Academy. “With its existing infrastructure, heritage in aviation and strong network with the industry, we believe that Cranfield represents an attractive location to expand our U.K. training capacity.”

“We welcome L3 to Cranfield University’s global research airport,” said Rob Abbott, Cranfield Airport’s director. “We have an established track record of working with international companies to bring investment and employment to the region through world-class education and research. In L3, Cranfield Airport has a partner engaged not just in the basic principles of academy training, but with a clear strategy for pilots of the future.”

By the end of 2019, L3 will operate more than 12 aircraft at Cranfield Airport, providing training capacity for more than 50 cadets. This represents another significant investment from L3 in the U.K. By the end of the year, the site will have created over 27 dedicated permanent jobs within the local economy.