Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions her Department has had with industry on the number of flight instructors; and assessment she has made of the capacity of flight schools to train commercial airline pilots.

Ministers and officials engage regularly with industry and trade bodies (including the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) on all aviation skills issues.

As the UK aviation sector operates predominantly in the private sector, it is for individual airlines to recruit and train pilots to meet today’s demand and the demand of the future.

A major training organisation has now been approved to deliver the first officer apprenticeship, which would provide training completely cost-free to young people. We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions and Skills England to encourage airlines to deliver this apprenticeship.