Trainee pilots who lost €83k in fees to picket Dáil
The group said it was planning the picket in order to keep the spotlight on the issue and “not let the Government forget the responsibility that they have in this case”.
Earlier this month, up to 80 trainee pilots who had paid fees to the Waterford-based Pilot Training Centre (PTC) of Ireland were left stranded in Florida after the Institute of Technology Aviation (FIT) there told them they were not allowed into the air again.
They were later told FIT’s contract with the training centre was terminated. FIT provides the training courses in association with PTC.
It later emerged that the Irish Aviation Authority was warned as recently as September that the €85,000 fees paid by cadets training with PTC Waterford were at risk as the company could be in financial difficulty.
A British citizen, Timothy Rouse, who had contact with former PTC trainees made his complaints by telephone and in a letter to the IAA’s personal licensing department.
However, the IAA denied the claims and said PTC met the requirements for the renewal of the approval in Oct 2011.
Speaking last night, a spokesman for the PTC trainee pilots, Conor Deeny, said the group was hopeful of a meeting with Leo Varadkar, the transport minister, in order to ensure that the issue remained on the agenda of the Government.
“A lot of trainee pilots from Dublin and Belfast will be there as will friends and family. We are hoping to meet with Minister Varadkar. We want to hear what the Government are going to do about the situation. The Irish Aviation Authority regulate the PTC and they are a state body. Clearly their regulation was not up to the highest standards, so the responsibility does lie with the Government.”
Mr Deeny said the pilots were looking for as much public support as possible and that they were liaising with their local TDs in an effort to drum up support for their cause.
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