DUBAI: Airlines in the Gulf countries are facing a critical shortage of pilots to staff their growing fleets, with at least 1,700 new professionals needed each year to meet the demand. Aviation colleges in the six Gulf countries train less than 1,000 new pilots a year, creating a significant supply gap that threatens to stall the growth of local carriers, a report from the Saudi Aviation Flight Academy (SAFA) said. "The problem is that there just aren't enough. If we don't start training pilots today, we won't have the experience needed five or 10 years down the line to fly the new aircraft, and in 20 years time we'll see a collapse (of the industry)," Captain Samir Kohli, head of safety and aerodrome compliance at SAFA said. Kohli told Arabia Business that around 900 pilots are required each year in Saudi Arabia alone. Dubai-based Emirates, Abu Dhabi's Etihad and Qatar Airways are some of the aviation industry's largest buyers of new planes with billions of dollars of aircraft on order. Emirates Airline, the Arab world's biggest carrier, has more than 190 aircraft on order from Boeing and Airbus worth some $66 billion to support its ambitious route expansion.
