ABOVE: CEO of FTA Global Sean Jacob 

Flight training provider Flying Time Limited, trading as FTA Global, has entered liquidation; the second major UK Approved Training Organisation – following the collapse of Tayside Aviation – to go bust this year.

Established in 2006, the school was the only integrated academy to provide all of its training in the UK, with its southerly location and proximity to EU airspace ideal to provide dual EASA / UK license training.

In an email letter sent to students earlier this week, CEO Sean Jacob noted it was with a “very heavy heart” that the Shoreham-based school had “come to the end of the road”, adding that – despite a last-minute meeting with the management team from Aeros – he could “find no one prepared to invest directly into Flying Time Limited or to buy the company out of Administration”.

“I can confirm that one of our competitors is already in discussions with the landlord about rapidly opening a satellite operation here at Shoreham Airfield and that they plan to do this very quickly. I will be in contact with other commercial flying schools to see how they might be able to help,” added Mr Jacob.

Although all training has now permanently ceased, the school note that all training records will be brought up to date and kept active online via FlightLogger for the next month. For those students awaiting a final test flight, Mr Jacob promises to explore a solution to “see if these can be completed ASAP”, noting it “will be the same situation for students who had exams booked with the CAA this week”.

FTA Global had introduced a ‘Fair Fees’ programme earlier this year, allowing students to spread the cost of training without excessive upfront deposits: promising that monthly fees would “now more closely align with the training phase being undertaken and the cost of training that the customer is actually undertaking”. However, alongside a standardised £2,500 deposit, payments still range from increments of £2,500 (ATPL Theoretical Knowledge Training) to £8,500 (APS MCC and UPRT Training).

The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) has already contacted affected students to offer bespoke support, with BALPA’s Head of Membership and Career Services, Wendy Pursey, stating: “We have already contacted the BALPA Benevolent Fund and will be providing bespoke advice and resources going forward”.

IMAGE: FTA GLOBAL