Keilir Aviation Academy

Keilir Aviation Academy is a part of Keilir Group, which was formed after the US Navy left Keflavik NAS in 2006. The Aviation Academy is a part of the Transportation and Security Division and offers training for aviation professionals in a wide variety of studies.

The pilot curriculum is based on JAR-FCL and approved by the Icelandic CAA, which is a full member of the JAA and conforming to the standards set by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Courses being offered are PPL(A), but in March 2009 CPL, IR and ATPL courses will be started. Keilir - Atlantic Center of Excellence has set ambitious goals and will only use state of the art equipment including Diamond DA-20, DA-40 and DA-42 aircraft, which are purchased brand new from the manufacturer (www.diamond-air.at).

The Cabin Crew curriculum has been developed with JAR-OPS and EU-OPS as a reference, but also with participation from the Icelandic Flag Carrier - Icelandair. This will serve the purpose of adapting the training curriculum to the airlines requirements, thus reducing the amount of time needed for airline specific training.

The Aircraft Mechanic Training is planned for August 2009 and this is a breakthrough in Mechanics training in Iceland, as this training has not been offered for decades. The curriculum is developed according to JAA Part-147 and is prepared in close cooperation with Icelandair Technical Services (www.its.is)

Air Traffic Controller Basic Course is also under development and will be starting January 2009. This course is prepared in accordance with Guidance and Regulations from Eurocontrol (www.eurocontrol.eu) on ATCO Common Core Content Initial Training. This training will include Aerodrome Control Instrument Rating with TWR Endorsement (according to syllabus ADI/TWR). The training includes synthetic training in a TWR simulator.

Further studies are being prepared including Academic Studies on the Aviation Level.

Student facilities include housing of over 2.000 apartments, now being populated with around 2.000 people. There are elementary schools for small children, services like grocery stores and entertainment facilities, health gym and swimming pool. The gym and the pool admission are at no cost to students. The pricing is attractive, especially in today’s environment where the Icelandic Krona is very cheap to buy. Single occupant apartment are available for as low as 10.000 ISK/wk (approx. 65 EUR).