Refunds to trainee pilots ruled out

The Government will not be able to refund fees to trainee pilots caught up in the closure of their course because it could mean other creditors demanding similar treatment — with a potential cost to the taxpayer of millions of euro.

Members of the Pilot Training College Action Group, representing the families of students on the pilot training course which folded earlier this month in Florida, met Transport Minister Leo Varadkar yesterday morning, as well as members of the Irish Aviation Authority and later with the Garda Fraud Squad.

While 80 students were affected when the PTC ended abruptly at the Florida Institute of Technology, 35 Irish students had self-financed their courses, leaving them out of pocket and without having completed their training.

The trainees were registered with the Pilot Training College Waterford and many of them and their families paid tens of thousands of euro, only to be left with an uncertain future.

Speaking after the meeting at IAA headquarters, Mr Varadkar said he had “huge sympathy for the situation in which the trainees and their families find themselves” and that he would be meeting them again to try and resolve their issues.

He ruled out compensating the fees paid by the families, although it is understood efforts are being made to secure alternative training so they can complete their courses elsewhere.

“Regrettably, I had to inform the group once again that neither the Government nor the IAA would be able to compensate them for the monies lost and have no liability in this regard,” he said.

Martina Kealy of the Pilot Training College Action Group, said she was “upset” that fees would not be compensated, given that the situation had been caused by what she called “soft touch regulation” on the part of the IAA.