Tui’s pioneering training is paving the way for a new type of pilot
It’s a blustery day at Oxford airport, one of the UK’s leading centres for pilot training. Standing on the tarmac, I struggle to juggle my notebook and pen, as I tame flyaway hairs and witness a batch of Tui trainee pilots steer their light aircraft into the sky – but it’s nothing compared to the complex manoeuvres going on in the cockpit.
Tui’s 19-month MPL (multi-crew pilot licence) training scheme took on its first cohort of cadets in September 2023. It was the first UK airline to launch an MPL programme in more than 15 years and opens up fully-funded pilot training – which usually costs around £100,000 – to a wider range of would-be pilots.
It also comes with job assurance; once cadets complete their training, they’re offered a job at Tui as a cadet pilot, with a salary for four years that includes repayment of training costs.
Stages of pilot training
It’s been a hit with aspiring pilots. Applications for this year’s course, which started in September, hit the 13,000 mark, up from 7,000 last year – though there’s only capacity for 30 cadets.
“The training includes five phases,” explains Ed Burford, MPL lead instructor.
“The first is six months of theoretical training, before we bring them to Oxford for three to four months of flying light aircraft. Then they go to Gatwick for the simulator phase. The last couple of phases are done together, where trainees learn how to fly a Boeing 737 in the way that Tui requires us to operate it.”
Most cadets have never been at the controls of an aircraft before, but they’ve got Tui’s best and brightest as co-pilots; Burford is an experienced Tui captain, and another trainer, captain Brenda Riepsaame Wassink, went viral in 2017 for landing a plane sideways in strong winds.
What it takes to be a pilot
The programme attracts cadets from all walks of life. I meet four of them, each with a fascinating story to tell.
First is Maya Ghazal, who arrived in the UK as a refugee from Syria in 2015. In addition to working as a goodwill ambassador for the UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency), she is on track to become the first-ever female Syrian refugee pilot.
“I tried flying because my mum had a friend who said I could never be a pilot,” she says. “I was really annoyed – I wanted to prove him wrong. This funding opens up the door for someone with passion and dedication, and means they can follow through with their goals.”
Just before his flight briefing, I chat to Matt Williamson, who worked as cabin crew for 12 years before joining the scheme. “I’ve been in awe of aircraft ever since I was a kid,” he says, recalling his parents taking him on weekly trips to the airport to watch planes take off.
“My work in cabin crew was helping to fund my PPL [private pilot licence], but that can only get you so far.”
His colleague Jack, whose father is a helicopter pilot, agrees.
“Schemes like this are a godsend – and Tui gets the right people,” he says. “There’s integration with the company from day one, as you’re given a Tui uniform and equipment. But they don’t want robots; they want someone fun and charismatic.”
Adeptness with people, as well as technical skills, are what’s needed to excel. Tui cadet and former RAF aircraft engineer Stephanie Schultz says: “The main thing about being a pilot is crew resource management – you have to be a good leader, and to pull the group through when things are in doubt.”
I ask each cadet what their favourite part of the job is, and they give me the same answer: transporting people to their dream holidays.
Schultz says: “We spent two weeks at Melbourne Orlando airport in Florida – seeing the kids so happy as they get on board really makes your job worth it.”
To round off the day, I don a high-vis and head out to the apron to watch the cadets accrue flying hours in four-seat Diamond DA40s.
As Williamson careers past the billowing windsock and up towards the clouds, I feel an unexpected sense of pride. They may only be circling Oxfordshire’s green fields today, but some day, they’ll fly across oceans and continents.
How far they’ll go
We asked the cadets for their dream spots to fly to in the future.
Maya Ghazal
“I’d love to have my family on board – they never thought one of their relatives would be a pilot. In a few years’ time, when it’s safe to do so, I’d like to fly back to Syria.”
Matt Williamson
“As a kid, I used to go on holiday to Palma every year, and I’d ask the cabin crew if I could go to the flight deck to meet the pilots. Landing there as a pilot would be so surreal.”
Jack Raybould
“Innsbruck would be an incredibly challenging, but rewarding, approach. When you’re landing between two snowy mountains, especially on a crisp blue day, it’s incredible.”
Stephanie Schultz
“I’ve been going to Tenerife since I was little, and I really want [to fly] that approach into Tenerife. When you see your descent on a clear day, Mount Teide is right next to you.”
PICTURE: Shutterstock/Bradley Caslin; Tom Platinum Morley Photography; Alice Barnes-Brown
