Turkish Airlines hires foreign pilots for safety: CEO

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

CEO Temel Kotil attended the graduation ceremony of two-year students of THY Flight Training Academy Jan. 14.

Turkish Airlines (THY) employs foreign pilots to attain global quality standards, the CEO of the company said, while speaking at the graduation ceremony of the Turkish pilot academy students.

“We need pilots. Aren’t there any in Turkey? There are in some schools, but we cannot take them because they are not qualified for our criteria,” THY CEO Temel Kotil said on Jan. 14 at the graduation ceremony of two-year students of THY Flight Training Academy.

“Nobody should be offended, but we need to maintain some certain level of quality. I don’t want to say ‘unsafe’ referring to those pilots, but they don’t fit with our criteria,” he stated, noting the company will keep hiring foreign pilots because of these concerns.

Some 63 pilots graduated yesterday and will begin performing their duties for THY planes, Kotil also said. “We wish safe flights for them.”

He also said the THY does very well and targets servicing around 60 million passengers this year.