With Indian trainees pouring in, Sabena relocates to Falcon

Mesa, Arizona: Mesa -Falcon Field is returning to its roots.
The Mesa airfield will again host international pilots in training when the Sabena Airlines Training Center relocates this year.
The move will bring about 70 jobs to Mesa when the facility is fully staffed and leave 150 future pilots residing in the Mesa area at any given time, said Sabena’s managing director, Kris Vandenbergh.
The move to Mesa comes on the heels of Sabena’s agreement to train pilots for Indian airline companies, which will increase the number of aircraft in Sabena’s fleet from 22 to 40 and put the training at about 160 flights per day, Vandenbergh said.
Corinne Nystrom, Falcon Field’s director, said neighbors shouldn’t be concerned about the extra flights.
“That is more activity, but they won’t be flying a lot of jet aircraft,” she said. “It’ll be similar to the aircraft you normally see flying in and out of Falcon.”
10/10/06 JJ Hensley/The Arizona Republic, US