United Airlines to invest in expanding largest flight training facility

United Airlines announced that it is expanding its Denver flight training center, which the airline says is, “the largest facility of its kind in the world,” as it seeks to hire an additional 10,000 pilots by 2030.

In its announcement, United said that it will add a new four-story building on the 23-acre campus in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood that will house 12 additional advanced flight simulators, training classrooms, conference rooms and offices.

United Airlines’ flight training campus is the sole training facility for the airline’s 12,000 active pilots and all newly hired pilots. According to United, every nine months, pilots must visit the training center to remain up-to-date on certifications.The facility can train up to 600 pilots at any one time.

The flight training center currently has 39 full-motion flight simulators and 15 fixed training devices. When the new building is established, United will have a total of 52 full-motion simulators and 28 fixed training devices.

“The expansion of this world-class facility gives United even more resources to recruit and train the next generation of aviators,” United Airlines’ managing director of the flight training center Marc Champion said in a statement.

“Our pilots are the best in the industry and flying remains one of the best, union careers in the world – great pay and benefits and the chance to captain the biggest planes to the most places around the world.”

United expects to add more than 2,000 new pilots this year alone and is on track to hire 10,000 pilots by 2030. The airline plans to train around 5,000 pilots by that date through United Aviate Academy, the airline’s own pilot training school. United’s goal is to have at least half of the pilots trained at the United Aviate Academy to be women or people of color.