Finnish defence specialist Patria has sold its civilian flight training subsidiary to United Arab Emirates-based Airways Aviation Group, saving the business from closure.
Patria Pilot Training’s 35 staff and operations – including ongoing training courses – at bases in Pirkkala and Vantaa, Finland, and Cordoba, Spain will transfer to the new owner on 1 February, when it will be rebranded as Airways Aviation Nordic.
Patria says the sale, for an undisclosed fee, follows “significant efforts” since the summer of 2024 to find a new owner for the unit, which otherwise faced closure.
Military pilot training carried out by Patria will not be affected by the sale, it says.
Dubai-based Airways Aviation has operations in more than 10 countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific, training civil and military pilots, plus cabin and ground crew.
It owns and operates one of the world’s largest fleets of training aircraft, including Europe’s largest fleet of Diamond Aircraft DA40/DA42s.
