Trainee pilots lose tens of thousands after flying schools collapse

Trainee pilots who lost tens of thousands of pounds when their flying schools collapsed are calling on the aviation regulator to take action.

Three UK flying schools have closed in 2023, leaving students who had paid fees in advance facing heavy losses.

The British Airline Pilots Association and Wings Alliance, which represents student pilots, are leading a campaign.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which oversees flying schools, said it was "looking carefully at the issues".

But it has been accused of being "asleep at the wheel".

Jane Tucker and her husband Alvin remortgaged their house in Worthing to raise the £90,000 needed for their daughter to train as an airline pilot.

Mrs Tucker said that despite being on modest incomes themselves, they wanted to help their daughter realise her dream.

The 19-year-old signed up with Shoreham-based flying school FTA Global last year. She had to make a down-payment of £10,000, then pay a further £4,500 each month.

But in late May the school went out of business. That left her parents with losses of £45,000 - and wondering how they would pay for their daughter to complete her qualifications.

"We are probably going to have to borrow more money, or borrow from family," said Mrs Tucker.

"But we are going to have to find it. Being a pilot is all she wants to do," she added.

Similar misfortune befell 23-year-old Zac Chiswell, a trainee pilot from Lanark.

In 2019, he enrolled with Tayside Aviation, a long-established flight school in Dundee. His plan was to gain an Airline Transport Pilot Licence - the kind needed to fly large commercial aircraft.

At the same time, he could study for a degree, through a partnership between Tayside Aviation and Middlesex University.

But his training was derailed - first by the pandemic which prevented him from completing his theory studies, or ground training within the required time.

That cost money, as he had to re-sit exams. But worse was to come. In April, Tayside Aviation went into administration.

Because the company had continued taking payments upfront during the pandemic, the bulk of his fees had already been paid. As a result, he lost £35,000.

Mr Chiswell said he will now need to raise some £40,000 in fresh funds to complete his training. But he is worried about the risk of losing even more money.

"It's a difficult position," he said. "Who do you trust at the end of the day? When I was looking for somewhere else to train, I actually spoke to FTA Global. Then they collapsed as well. It scared me."

The demise of Tayside Aviation and FTA Global followed that of another flight school, Bournemouth Commercial Flight Training, in November last year.

Now there are fears that others could follow. Insiders say schools burned through cash reserves during the pandemic, leaving them vulnerable - and struggling to repay accumulated debts.

The campaign group has written an open letter to the Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper to call for action from the government's airline industry regulator the Civil Aviation Authority.

Among the signatories is Alex Whittingham, managing director of Wings Alliance, as well as head of Bristol Groundschool, which provides theory training for student pilots.

He said the CAA had been failing to provide sufficient oversight at UK-approved flight schools - in breach of its statutory duties.

"The CAA have been asleep at the wheel," he said. "They need to fix the system so this doesn't happen again."

BALPA agrees. "Flight schools going bust is financially devastating to hardworking students who deserve to have their money better protected from flight school failures," said general secretary Miranda Rackley.

"Pilot training is amongst the most expensive training of all professions, and unlike other careers such as law and medicine, there is no student funding available," she said.

The campaign is calling for action to ensure that in future flight schools will be unable to take advance payments or deposits in excess of £5,000.

It is also calling for an industry scheme to be set up to protect student pilot funds.

The CAA said: "We know that when flight training organisations enter a period of financial distress this can be particularly concerning for all those who have paid monies to that organisation".

It added: "We are looking carefully at the issues that have been raised with us and will provide an update in due course".