Sweden is the latest country to enroll in military flight education centers offered by the Italian Air Force, subscribing to the training of 100 academics and four instructors over the next decade.
The deal is covered by an agreement signed on 4 December by the head of the Swedish air force Major General Jonas Wikman and his Italian counterpart Lieutenant General Luca Goretti.
Basic training will be carried out at the Italian air force’s 61st Wing in Galatina air base in the south of the country, while advanced-level instruction will be conducted at the International Flight Training School (IFTS) at Decimomannu in Sardinia.
The agreement provides for the continued inclusion of Swedish Air Force student pilots for the next ten years.
Countries that have already opted for IFTS, a strategic partnership between aircraft manufacturer Leonardo and the Italian Air Force, are Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
Flight operations at IFTS are carried out with a fleet of complex Leonardo T-346A teaching aircraft, while it also has extensive on-site educational facilities.
Scandinavian carrier Norwegian says the country’s festival regulator is changing its criteria in its assessment of the airline’s proposed acquisition of regional operator Wideroe. Norwegian says it is “strongly at odds” with regulator Konkurransetilsynet, which in November revealed it was contemplating blocking the acquisition, fearing the festival would be Array.
British Airways will open 3 Mediterranean from London Stansted next summer, its first operations from the airport since before the pandemic. The flights will be operated through its BA Cityflyer division. Chief executive Sean Doyle unveiled the new routes on one occasion at London Heathrow on December 11.
Irish lessor Avolon is expanding its single-aisle aircraft portfolio with an order for 140 aircraft, adding 100 Airbus A321neos and 40 Boeing 737 Max 8s. The company says the deal will delay delivery until 2032. Avolon did not particularly identify which variants of the 737 Max were covered by the deal.
Poland is the third NATO country, after Italy and the United Kingdom, to deploy Leonardo Helicopters’ AW101 in a maritime configuration.
The UK has created its second frontline squadron to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II – the Royal Navy’s 809 NAS.
The Royal Australian Air Force ended operations with the Lockheed Martin AP-3C Orion and its two examples were phased out in early December.
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