Prof. Dr. Süleyman Tolun, Dean of the Faculty of Aviation and Space Sciences of the University of Kyrenia, draws attention to the significant development and the growing need for qualified personnel in Turkish civil aviation industry which demonstrates a remarkable growth every year.

According to the press statement released by the Directorate of Press and Public Relations Office of the University of Kyrenia, Prof. Dr. Süleyman Tolun drew attention to the development and the growing need for qualified personnel in Turkey’s civil aviation industry which is one of the fastest growing sectors across world. Utilizing from the geographical and strategic position of Turkey, which makes it a natural hub for air transportation as it is located in the close vicinity of Middle East and Africa as well as acting as a bridge between Europe and Asia, the Turkish aviation industry has already positioned itself as one of the leading figures in Europe. Turkey is currently ranked as the fifth largest Aviation industry in Europe. The number of commercial flights in the last decade has increased by 168 percent, while the number of passengers increased by 233 percent. According to Professor Tolun’s explanation, by the end of July 2014, the number of domestic and international commercial flights was 653,342 in total. This number increased by 8, 6 % and reached 709,270 in total by the end of July 2015. While the number of passengers was 92,675,087 as the end of July 2014, the passenger traffic also increased by 8, 8 % and reached 100,801,440 in total. In the line with the growing demand for the services provided by civil aviation industry, the need for qualified personnel is increasing dramatically. The number of people employed in the industry demonstrates the growing clout of the Turkish aviation sector as well. Today the number of employees is over 150,000 and the revenue is over 15 billion USD and these are expected to increase even more in the years ahead. Turkish Airlines, which is now one of the leading airlines of Europe, was flying a total of 10 million passengers on 65 aircraft to 103 destinations about a decade ago. Last year, it carried over 35 million passengers to 243 destinations aboard 241 planes. Compared to last year, THY realized 16 % growth and almost 2000 qualified personnel consisting of cabin and cockpit crew are needed to be employed in the year of 2015. Currently pilots employed by Turkish Airlines (THY) were around 3500 in total. However, 500 new pilots are needed to be employed in 2015 as it is projected to increase the number of planes over 290. The needs of other Turkey-based civil aviation companies that operating in Turkey and worldwide are increasing in almost equal rates.

Prof. Dr. Süleyman Tolun: Bringing its first phase into a being through 80 million USD project, the University of Kyrenia adopts it as one of its fundamental objectives to make Kyrenia an international aviation training center focusing on cultivating highly qualified personnel for Turkey’s and the world’s aviation industry through quality education…..

Touching upon the primary objective of the Faculty of Aviation and Space Sciences of the University of Kyrenia of which first phase was brought into a being in the center of Kyrenia through 80 million USD project, Professor Tolun highlighted the crucial role of the faculty in cultivating highly qualified staff who are equipped with cutting-edge knowledge and skills and capable to address the emerging needs of the civil aviation industry particularly in our region. He also underlined the commitment of the University of Kyrenia to enhancing the image of the city of Kyrenia by steering the wheel towards becoming a world-renowned aviation and maritime education and training center. Drawing attention to the economic dimension of the civil aviation industry, Prof. Dr. Süleyman Tolun spoke of: “The civil aviation sector is one of the sectors, which makes an important contribution to economy in terms of the number of its employees and the flow of income. In virtue of international agreements on air transport that signed between Turkey and 143 countries, the sectoral revenue, which was about 2-3 million dollars ten years ago, has exceeded 15 million USD. In the same period, the increase in the number of planes was 128% in airline fleets and 318% in cargo capacity. This tremendous increase in the number of aircrafts brings a growing need for pilots along with it. Since there are currently no unemployed pilots in Turkey, the need for captain pilots and copilots is met by employing or hiring foreign pilots. The rapid development in the civil aviation sector has increased the chances for qualified staff trained in civil aviation to find a job in their professional field. The sectoral potential to provide more people employment is rapidly rising. However, with a fierce competition, this field requires a highly-qualified workforce and specialization at all levels. Being aware of this reality, the Faculty of Aviation and Space Sciences of the University of Kyrenia, which is TRNC’s first faculty offering education and training on aviation and space sciences in English, has set it as a national goal to offer quality and cutting-edge programs in compliance with national international standards and train highly qualified personnel equipped with comprehensive professional knowledge and skills to respond the emerging needs of Turkish civil aviation industry. To this end, the doors of our faculty are open to the young people who are ambitious to make career in aviation sector”, said he.