Patria's civil pilot training operations to relocate from Helsinki–Malmi to Tampere–Pirkkala in 2017.
In June 2016 a celebration was held for laying the foundations of the new flight training centre.
At Tampere-Pirkkala airport, a new training centre is being constructed, designed to start operations in May 2017, until which time the City of Helsinki and Finavia have undertaken for their part to ensure the availability of Malmi Airport for Patria's operations. The need for relocation arises from the Finnish Government's decision to discontinue using the Helsinki–Malmi Airport. In June 2016 a celebration was held for laying the foundations. The new training centre is a result of active cooperation between different shareholders including for example Patria, Tampere Vocational College Tredu, Finavia and the Community of Pirkkala. The training centre will provide excellent conditions for both the continuation and further expansion of the field of pilot training, as well as for collaboration between the various operators engaged in aviation industry training in general. Patria will occupy approximately 40 % of the premises of the new Pirkkala training centre, while the rest of the space will accommodate the aircraft fitter training unit of the Tampere Vocational College in its entirety. In the future, the training offering available in Pirkkala will also comprise vocational modules comprising airport maintenance skills and associated security services. “The collaboration model now being implemented significantly improves the operating conditions of all parties involved and, thus, creates new growth potential for the supply of both domestic and cross-border training opportunities,” states Jukka Holkeri, Chief Strategy Officer at Patria. Patria Pilot Training has trained hundreds of Finnish, and also foreign, commercial airline pilots since its foundation in 1998. Patria's extensive training offering comprises also a Multi-Crew Pilot License (MPL) training module designed for commercial airline carriers. Patria Pilot Training uses state-of-the-art training aircraft and flight training equipment. The flight school has 20 employees in all.
