Sri Lanka emerging as a regional aviation trainer

Sri Lanka is steadily emerging as a trainer in the aviation industry for the region.

The latest indicator of this favourable trend is the successful conclusion of a basic aerodrome fire fighting course by a group of fire fighters from the Maldives Airports Company at the Civil Aviation Training Centre, Sri Lanka.

These fire fighters underwent the regular basic fire fighting course that is followed by recruits to the airport fire service of the Bandaranaike International Airport with minor adaptations to suit the specific operational requirements of Male International Airport.

The course was of three months duration and included theoretical subjects such as Firemanship, Fire Ground Skills, Aircraft Fire Fighting, Fire Vehicles, Radio Communication, Fire fighting equipment and hydrants.

The trainees also underwent practical training and were also exposed to live fire exercises conducted under the supervision of experienced instructors. The course also included training on first aid delivered by the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society and an outward bound training stint.

The Civil Aviation Training Centre (CATC), situated at Ratmalana, is the training division of Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., the fully state owned company vested with the responsibility of providing airport services within the geographical extent of Sri Lanka and aviation services within the Colombo Flight Information Region.

It provides training to officers deployed in specialized services such as Air Traffic Control, Avionics Engineering, Aeronautical Communication Services, Airport Fire and Rescue Services and Airport Security Services.

Its faculty comprises qualified, trained and experienced personnel drawn from operations. The CATC is presently the only aviation training institution in Sri Lanka enjoying full membership in the TRAINAIR program of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Up to now this institution has been primarily training only those who are employed by them. Recently, the management of Airport and Aviation Services has made a decision to open its training programs for commercial participation.