A BOEING 747 has landed in the middle of a North East college.
Hartlepool College of Further Education, one of the north’s leading further and higher education providers, has painstakingly reassembled a genuine Boeing 747 fuselage, allowing students the opportunity to train in an authentic environment.
Celebrating the opening of its new Travel, Tourism and Aviation training centre, Darren Hankey, Principal of Hartlepool College of Further Education, said: “The Travel Tourism and the Aviation departments here at the college have just created a wonderful new facility which is, in essence, the inside of a Boeing 747 plane.
“The aim is that it will provide a wonderful learning environment for all students on Travel, Tourism and Aviation courses.”
In attendance at the big launch event were representatives of aviation industry including British Airways, TUI and Durham Tees Valley Airport.
James Grant, Partnership and Communications Executive at Durham Tees Valley Airport said: “I’m here to be supportive of the new skills that Hartlepool College is bringing to the region. Especially in regard to cabin crews and ground operations.
“This is something which the region really needs to develop in order to attract new aircraft and aviation airlines to the Tees Valley and Hartlepool College is really helping in respect to that.
“The facility is fantastic. There aren’t many colleges within the UK that have got such a centre. The actual formal fuselage in the class room environment is extremely good for the students. For them to be able to work and roleplay in such an amazing facility is great and the right environment to learn compared to sat at a desk.”
Jonathan Thompson, British Airways Cabin Crew said: “The cabin is amazing. You can see it’s high quality and it’s obvious they have taken a lot of time in rebuilding it. The quality of the cabin itself is as good as some of the airline training facilities I’ve been to in the past.”
Darren concluded: “The cabin is just like walking on to the real thing. It’s absolutely superb and I think it’s been amplified because of the fact that students this year wear full uniform.
“It’s a realistic working environment for these students allowing them to get the knowledge and the skills they will need to explore the opportunities in that sector.”
Hartlepool College of Further Education’s recently introduced Travel Tourism and Aviation courses are just part of the offerings available. For more information go to:http://www.hartlepoolfe.ac.uk/
Picture caption: Hartlepool College of Further Education students with staff outside of the College’s new Travel, Tourism and Aviation Training Centre.