Czechia Trains 18 Ukrainian Civil Aviation Pilots

A two-year program in the Czech Republic, which trained 18 civil aviation pilots from Ukraine, ended on Thursday.

The Gaze reports on this with reference to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The pilot training program for Ukraine started in June 2023 and lasted until May 2025.

The total budget for the program was 22 million koruna (about 1 million euros), of which 15 million was provided by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 5 million by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and 2 million by the Ministry of Education.

The Czech Technical University in Prague joined the project, preparing training materials in accordance with European standards and conducting a comparative analysis of Ukrainian training programs.

The practical part took place at the F-AIR aviation school at the airports in Karlovy Vary and Benešov.

After completing their training, the Ukrainians took theoretical and practical exams before the Czech Civil Aviation Authority and received a European Commercial Pilot Licence with IR, MEP and ATPL Theory qualifications.

“These licenses give the right to engage in professional piloting not only in the EU, but also in Ukraine and most other countries of the world,” the Czech Foreign Ministry explained.

Commenting on the completion of the program, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky promised that Prague ”will continue this form of cooperation in the future.”

As The Gaze reported earlier, Ukraine and the Czech Republic have announced a new phase of defense cooperation focused on the training of Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet pilots and support crews.