RIYADH — Prince Sultan Bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Space Commission and the Board of Trustees of the National Aviation Academy (NAA), on Sunday signed a training contract with the Aviation Department of the University of North Dakota to provide training to the academy students in Thumama, Riyadh and King Abdullah Economic City, Jeddah. NAA, the largest aviation center of its kind in the Middle East, focuses on training pilots and teaching the basics of aircraft maintenance, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Speaking on the occasion, Prince Sultan said the agreement with a world class training operator in various aviation fields will be beneficial to the Kingdom and its citizens as it aims to train nationals in various fields of the aviation industry. "The Kingdom, under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, views aviation as a huge economic industry, especially as the Kingdom is one of the most important and attractive aviation markets. As emir of Riyadh, the King paid a visit to the Saudi Aviation Club in Al-Thumama," he said. Prince Sultan noted that the Kingdom is one of the largest markets for aviation services and equipment and therefore it is working hard to provide training to national hands to take advantage of these promising career opportunities at various levels through the establishment of Saudi Aviation Club, which today leads a great effort in organizing exhibitions, conferences and international participations. It also coordinates the efforts of national institutions with making available of world-class and quality training centers. "The selection of the University of North Dakota Aviation to carry out these programs has been made very carefully because of its extensive experience in this field as well as its previous experience in the Kingdom. We expect that there will be an increasing demand for jobs in various aviation fields with the arrival of more pilgrims, visitors and tourists and that requires the presence of more pilots and different teams in maintenance, operation and management," he said while underlining the need for deep, mature and robust training programs. Prince Sultan pointed out that the Saudi pilot has been and will continue to be one of the best in the world in terms of discipline and performance. The University of North Dakota is the largest aviation training and aviation science university in the United States and has the largest fleet of training aircraft, with more than 130 aircraft and training simulators, enabling it to carry out over 120,000 flight hours and over 200,000 safe landings annually. The university is a pioneer in aviation sciences, offering over 255 accredited programs, including seven bachelor's degree programs in aviation sciences and more than 15 specialized professional programs. This partnership will enable NAA to offer the best training opportunities in the pilot training program, aircraft maintenance program and advanced technical training program, meeting the highest international standards. NAA Director General Capt. Mohammed Al-Subaie said the presence of a global operator, with the size and excellence of the University of North Dakota, in the Kingdom achieves a high added value scientifically and economically, and that will lead to the development of the aviation training industry by localizing the training industry in the future. "This will contribute to the graduation of sufficient number of people from the aviation academy in the core disciplines to cover a large part of the growing demand for new qualified pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians equipped with future skills to serve the Kingdom's aviation sector," he said.
