Foreign Flight Students Face Uncertain Future

The slumping economy appears to have claimed yet another high profile victim in the aviation industry. The Commercial Airline Pilot Training (CAPT) Program has halted operations at least temporarily, due to the current economic environment.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports CAPT officials sent an email to students last Friday, saying operations have been suspended indefinitely while they review the state of the program's finances.

"CAPT is operating at limited capacity the week of Jan 25th," reads an email from Chris Kokai, executive director of the flight school based at Flagler County Airport (X49) in Bunnell, FL. "We have suspended full operations in order to take a closer look at our operating expenses. We are evaluating our operating expenses to ensure we can remain profitable in these tough economic times.

"We hope to resume a full operating schedule in early February," Kokai's email adds.

The announcement is bad news for roughly 160 Chinese students, who were going through ab-initio training at CAPT when the announcement was made. Those students are in the United States on educational visas... which, if the school is closed, would expire.

Furthermore, some students told the paper their promised one-year training program showed signs of faltering early on. "The contract said we should finish in one year, and we have been here nine months," said one of the students, who did not want to be named. "At the speed we are training here, we would have to stay here for two years."

Other students -- participating in CAPT through partnerships with Nan Jing University, Civil Aviation Flight University, Shen Zhen Airline and Shan Dong Airline -- complained they haven't received their weekly stipends in over a month. That money had already been paid to CAPT by the students' sponsors, they add.

The news was unsettling to officials in Flagler County, who last year approved a tax incentive package for CAPT to expand its operations at X49 and hire more employees. "We're monitoring it closely," said Flagler County spokesman Carl Laundrie. "We'll be talking to them."

Atlanta-based Flight Training Services International took control of the non-degree CAPT Program from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in August 2006, as ANN reported, six months after ERAU announced it intended to refocus its efforts away from pilot training, and towards the school's business management studies program.

As part of its original agreement with the county, Embry-Riddle agreed to pay Flagler County for its facilities at the Airpark Phase I development near X49. FTSI took over that commitment when it purchased CAPT... but if that company defaults on its obligations, ERAU would be responsible for the payments.

"Embry-Riddle is still part of that arrangement," said Laundrie. "They have a financial obligation to us for the facility."

Kokai asserts CAPT officials are "working day and night to ensure the success of the organization and continuation of the flight training schedules for all of our students."

Stay tuned.

FMI: www.captprogram.org, www.flighttrainingservices.com, www.erau.edu