Emirates To Send Trainee Pilots To Australia

Emirates is to send its cadet pilots to Australia for pilot

training to relieve them of the intense scrutiny they have experienced in the US since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The official airline of the United Arab Emirates has pulled out of the pilot training program at the University of Western Michigan's aviation college, where its cadets have been trained for the past three years, and will use Australian facilities from April.

"We have found a more cost-effective alternative in Australia," airline spokesman Mike Simon said.

A spokeswoman for Emirates at its Dubai headquarters said details would not be released before the agreement with the Australian training facility was finalised.

The three-year contract with the Michigan facility was due to end on March 31, she said, and the decision to train in Australia was made for a "mixture of commercial and practical" considerations.

However, Western Michigan University spokesman Dave Thomas said it was his understanding that background checks of cadets led to the change. "It's a politically sensitive subject for them, without a doubt," Mr Thomas said.

A Michigan newspaper reported that other international pilots being trained at the college were not subjected to the security checks, which angered Emirates.

Mr Thomas said about 12 of the almost 80 pilots being trained at the college were from Emirates. The airline paid about USD$80,000 to USD$90,000 a year for each of the cadets, for a total cost of about USD$1 million a year

The Emirates spokeswoman said it was cheaper to train in Australia and more convenient for an airline that did not fly to the US but flew to Australia daily.

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