It was five years of turbulent work that is now drawing to a close. The L3Harris Airline Academy in Ponte de Sur, the former Aerocondor, in the Portalegre area, will close its doors at the end of September. The pilot training academy has been, since 2017, in the hands of the US company L3 Technologies, which is pulling out of work in Portugal, leaving 90 workers unemployed. The multinational, which has training centers in the UK and the US, explains to Dinheiro Vivo that the decision follows an “analysis of the group’s global portfolio”, carried out with the aim of ensuring “the international presence of training is in line with demand”. A source from L3Harris confirms, “In order to ensure the best possible result for the operation of our schools, we unfortunately have suspended our activity in Portugal.”
The news was met with a surprise by the municipality, which considered this exit from the municipality “surprising and unexpected.” “Unfortunately, the Ponte de Sur City Council was not consulted in a timely manner on this unilateral decision by the company. About nineteen workers will be temporarily unemployed and will see their rights duly protected,” the council confirmed in response to Dinheiro Vivo. “Because the size of our aviation pool is large and recognized, we believe that everyone will have opportunities with other companies already installed at the airport, those that are currently installed, and those that will soon also become part of this ecosystem,” the municipality adds.
The L3Harris Airline Academy campus, with an area of more than 24,000 square metres, at Ponte de Sur Municipal Airport, will not be empty for long. The guarantee is provided by the municipality led by Hugo Pereira Hilário, who adds that he already has the project of the new company that will operate there. “The municipality-owned facilities will be immediately occupied by another operator in the same business area, which has acquired L3Harris assets. The company that has reached an agreement with L3, which the municipality already knows about its business plan, proposes to create conditions to accommodate more students in the short term, thus Take full advantage of the excellent infrastructure that will be available,” informs the Chamber, however, without revealing the name of the new company that will be there.
failed work
The multinational air defense technology specialist, based in Florida, United States, arrived in Ponte de Sur in 2017 with the goal of expanding the training business in Europe. North America bought the operation of Gair, the experimental school that was then led by entrepreneur Carlos Saraiva, and took over the business with ambitious expansion plans. Prospects were upbeat with all the puzzle pieces lined up. The Ponte de Sur Academy was already on the lips of the world, attracting about 150 students of dozens of nationalities annually. At this school in Alto Alentejo, hundreds of pilots have been trained from companies such as TAP, Air France, British Airways, Air Arabia, easyJet or Ryanair. The quality of the infrastructure, which was already the subject of a total investment of €40 million by the City Council with the support of community funds, the favorable weather conditions for flights and the 1,800-meter runway are some of the factors that led to this. The name of the municipality made an echo outside the doors.
A few months after L3 took over the business, the director of the Air Academy in Europe, Mario Spinola, revealed in an interview with Lusa, in 2018, that the company wants to invest another eight million euros in infrastructure and hopes to get 500 students in a two-year period. But the problems started soon after. In 2020, L3 abruptly terminated his contract with 120 students, who had already paid 80 thousand euros for training and could not complete the course. The controversy was turned on its head, involving courts and reparations. L3Harris claimed there were difficulties due to the pandemic, but the truth is that the restrictions started earlier. In 2018 and 2019, airlines faced serious difficulties in hiring pilots and manpower shortages led to a fierce hunt for these professionals. In this way, the pilots who were trained at the Ponte de Sur academy ended up giving up teaching, to join the various air carriers, leaving the school devoid of professionals able to give practical lessons to hundreds of students.
After the last two years of the pandemic, during which the school has resorted to state aid such as layoffs, the start of 2022 has not brought better winds. In March, the company’s workers were called to a meeting with management that put on the table the possibility of selling or closing the school. Last August, confirmation came through a dismissal letter. “One of the reasons given for this decision, according to L3 Harris Vice President David Coward, is the reduced demand for pilot training and the fact that there are no optimistic views of the near future,” says a source close to the operation. , questioning the validity of the arguments: “Schools in Cascais and Porto are full,” regrets, stressing that the Ponte de Sur Academy has received many proposals from investors interested in buying the business.
Flight group Ponte de Sur
After Gair’s arrival in 2013 to Ponte de Sor, the municipality is not the same again. The first Portuguese flight school moved to the local Ponte de Sur airport nine years ago. The arrival of hundreds of foreign students marks a milestone in the province’s economic development. From real estate to restoration, many businesses have been affected. Other international investors are increasingly interested in the aviation, aerospace and aerospace sectors, and there are currently 14 companies already residing in what is known as the Ponte de Sur Aviation Group, responsible for 300 jobs. Soon, another 800 jobs will be created.
Recently, three mobilization agendas were approved for the Recovery and Resilience Plan, representing an investment of €200 million. “These projects range from building the first Portuguese aircraft, to monitoring space debris, to producing satellites. They will mark a new milestone in the development of the entire region. It is estimated that more than 600 direct jobs will be the future of the Ponte de Sur Aviation Group, in the short term. And the average, it will definitely be more positive,” reveals the municipality. There are still four more companies that will join this pool in the next two years, creating another 200 jobs.
new school
After the L3Harris group, what was the first Portuguese flight school would change again. Founded by Colonel Victor Brito in 1980, first as Escola de Aviação Aeroavia (EAA) and later, Escola de Aviação Aerocondor (EAA), the training academy has already gone through several owners. In 2001 it was sold to the Spanish group Gestair, under the name Gestair Flying Academy. In 2013, it was sold to businessman Carlos Saraiva, who took the company to Ponte de Sur and opened the GAir Training Center. The sale to L3Harris completed in 2017, and five years later, it’s over. A new school for the training of military cadets will replace it in Ponte de Sur.
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