ATP Announces New Training Facility in Fort Myers, Florida

The newly constructed 19,000-square-foot training facility and fleet are located at the north end of Page Field (KFMY).  

"We love to see the new training center here in Southwest Florida because there are tremendous career opportunities right here in The Sunshine State,” Ryan Rodosta, senior director of flight operations and system chief pilot, said in a statement. “We serve seven Florida airports stretching from Miami to Pensacola, and we’re growing fast with more than 50 new planes expected for delivery over the next two years,” 

“We can’t wait to welcome the next generation of pilots that will take our guests across our growing route map.”

Earlier this year, ATP announced a partnership with Spirit Airlines’ Spirit Direct Program to give students a direct pathway to Spirit’s flight line. To support the partnership, Spirit will be flying in an Airbus A320neo to ATP’s open house in Fort Myers. Attendees will have the opportunity to tour the aircraft and ask Spirit representatives questions regarding the partnership, allowing ATP flight instructors the chance to progress to first officer after accruing 1,500 hours total time. 

The Fort Myers training center is the second new training facility ATP has constructed recently. In October 2021, ATP opened a 25,875-square-foot facility in Arlington, Texas. The new training facilities are working toward mitigating the pilot shortage in the airline industry. 

The training facility in Fort Myers will house an expansive simulator bay which will feature brand new, state-of-art Frasca TruFlite simulators with immersive 220-degree wrap-around visuals, a dedicated maintenance hanger to maintain the fleet of Piper Seminoles and Piper Archers, as well as open and inviting common areas to bring together classroom, briefing, and testing spaces.

"With a pilot shortage upon us, it is an exciting moment to unveil the Fort Myers training center," said Michael Arnold, director of marketing, ATP Flight School. "The new facility is built on 35-plus years of experience delivering airline pilot training and presents state-of-art resources backed with the proven methodology that has made ATP the leading provider of airline pilots. The result is Florida's premier airline training center, where students are on the fastest track to becoming airline pilots."

Airline Career Pilot Program classes will start each Monday at Page Field.