United Airlines Breaks Ground On Denver Training Facility Expansion
By Danielle Chavira
DENVER (CBS4) - Denver-based United Airlines broke ground on its new flight training center in the Central Park neighborhood. The goal is to prepare for a pilot hiring surge.
The 4-story, 23-acre center will house advance flight simulators, training classrooms and offices. The campus currently has 39 full-motion flight simulators and 15 fixed training devices, but the new space will allow for 13 more simulators and 13 more training devices.
"It's space that we need to train our pilots, train the next generation of pilots doe united airlines. It will help us grow, and it will help us increase our market share here in Denver," said Marc Champion, Managing Director of the Flight Training Center.
All 12,000 of United's active pilots come to the center currently to train once a year. They need re-certification every nine months. The airline hopes to hire 10,000 new pilots by 2030.
The expansion should be completed by the end of 2023.