On 14 April 2025, Air France inaugurated two new Airbus A220 and A350 flight simulators at its training centre at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. More efficient and less energy-consuming, this latest-generation equipment enables pilots to practise in ultra-realistic conditions, faithfully reproducing the piloting experience on the ground and in flight. This investment of several tens of millions of euros will enable Air France to enhance its crew training facilities and is part of a strategy to modernise its training tools and infrastructure.
Enhanced training capacity
With these two new Airbus A220 and A350 flight simulators, the Air France pilot training centre, which opened in 1972, is continuing to modernise and expand. The installation of this new equipment brings the total number of simulators in operation to fourteen, covering all the aircraft in the Air France fleet (3 Airbus A220 simulators, 2 A320 simulators, 1 A330 simulator, 3 A350 simulators, 4 Boeing 777 simulators and 1 Boeing 787 simulator).
Essential for pilot training, simulators accompany pilots at every stage of their career, right from their initial training. Mounted on jacks and using the latest available technology, they recreate the movements of an aircraft in an extremely realistic way, and simulate complex or emergency situations, both on the ground and in flight. They are complemented by 4 static simulators, or FTDs (Flight Training Devices).
These simulators play an essential role in maintaining the skills and regular assessment of our pilots. Four times a year, pilots take part in simulator instruction sessions under the supervision of specially trained instructors. In 2024, more than 500 qualifying training courses were provided, totalling around 70,000 hours of training.
A more sustainable and modern fleet of simulators
To accommodate these new simulators, Air France has extended the existing building, with no impact on the training programme. As part of the airline's commitment to sustainability, 140 solar panels were installed on the roof of the building to produce part of the electricity needed to power the centre's simulators.
Like the latest-generation aircraft that Air France is currently adding to its fleet, these new simulators are more efficient and consume less energy. They consume up to six times less electricity than previous generation simulators.