Perth flight school revenues set to soar thanks to pilot shortage

A Perth-based aviation business is on course for a rise in revenues as it ramps up operations to address the global pilot shortage.

ACS boss Graeme Frater is investing in the future by boosting headcount and adding new tools. Picture: Wallace Shackleton

ACS Aviation, a flying school and aircraft maintenance company operating from Perth Airport, is forecasting a 26 per cent increase in annual turnover to £2.4 million after training more than 115 pilots this year.

The company said its is responding to a “huge and growing” demand for pilots from European airlines by investing more than £2m in additional simulators and twin-engine training aircraft.

This takes the ACS fleet to more than 20 and makes it the country’s largest aircraft training academy.

Demand is 'growing rapidly'

ACS has trebled staff numbers in the past three years, with a current headcount of around 40 staff.

Chief executive Graeme Frater said: “Europe accounts for 34 per cent of global air traffic and according to Boeing projections this will grow by 113 per cent by 2037. With that in mind we have focused on increasing our flight training capabilities over the past year and thanks to our industry leading fleet and training concepts, this has resulted in a 40 per cent uplift in the number of pilots trained.

“Since we launched our flight training academy in 2007 we have successfully developed relationships with a number of European airlines including EasyJet, Loganair, Jet2.com, Eastern Airways and Stobart Air, and we aim to grow this portfolio over the next 12 months.

“We are not only looking to grow our engineering and flight training services at Perth Airport but we are also in talks with several other airports about expanding our aviation operations across the UK.”

ACS is working closely with Scottish Enterprise on several projects including aircraft engineering modern apprenticeships and graduate opportunities to support its continued expansion.

Frater added: “The demand for pilots is growing rapidly worldwide and airlines are increasingly looking for new staff for their cockpits.”

The business also operates ACS Engineering, a maintenance services provider specialising in aircraft and helicopter maintenance and engineering support.