Delta Air Lines Inc said on Tuesday it would launch a flight academy to train pilots for the airline as the industry struggles with a shortage of aviators. The carrier said the academy, operated in partnership with training provider Skyborne Airline, would start training its first batch of students in June. The development comes at a time when major U.S. carriers, faced with a travel boom, have struggled to find enough pilots after many of them were let go during the pandemic.
The Delta Propel Pilot Academy will be based in a 12,000-square-foot facility situated within Skyborne's Florida campus, the statement said. Atlanta-based Delta joins United Airlines Holdings Inc, which agreed to purchase a flight training academy in Phoenix in 2020, in an effort to bolster its roster of pilots.