Aeroflot captains training in Malta

Air Malta is training 12 senior captains from Aeroflot on the operation of Airbus A320 aircraft.

The three-month programme is being done in preparation for the delivery to the Russian airline of its first A319 in mid-October. There are 18 aircraft on order.

The captains are visiting Malta in groups of three, each group flying with Air Malta for a total of three weeks. Following ground training they are flying with Air Malta line training captains on Air Malta aircraft and routes, before being examined.

This is not the first time that Air Malta's A320 operation has led to the training of foreign operators' flight crew at the suggestion of Airbus Industrie, the airline said.

This time last year a group of Air Malta senior captains and first officers commuted for several weeks to Yerevan, in Armenia to train pilots of Armenian International Airways on their first A320. Some years ago Air Malta had also trained a group of Airbus Industrie's own instructors.