Patria sells its pilot training company to the United Arab Emirates

Finnish defense industry company Patria sells its pilot training subsidiary Patria Pilot Training to Airways Aviation Group based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The Finnish state owns 50.1 percent of Patria. The state sold the remaining 49.9 percent of the shares to the Norwegian Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace in 2016.

According to Patria, all employees, operations and ongoing trainings of Patria Pilot Training will be transferred to Airways Aviation from the beginning of February.

The changes have no effect on military flight training.

Pilot Training – operation held last summer change negotiations regarding the possible termination of the operation during 2025. According to Patria, an external successor has been actively sought for the function since then.

The operation mainly organizes civilian professional pilot training in Tampere’s Pirkkala, Vantaa and Córdoba in Spain. Patria’s Pilot Training operations employ 30 employees in Finland and five employees in Spain.

Airways According to Patria, Aviation Group operates actively in more than 10 countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. The company has one of the largest fleets of privately owned training aircraft in the world.

Pilot Training will continue under the name Airways Aviation Nordic.

Patria’s director of communications Sirje Ahvenlampi-Hyvönen stresses that the changes have no effect on military aviation training.

“Pilot Training oy is not connected to the Defense Forces. These are civilian training.”

Patria is still a strategic partner of the Defense Forces.