Last week, Prof. Ing. David Zammit-Mangion  and Dr Ing. Jason Gauci  from the Institute of Aerospace Technologies (IAT)  attended the Pilot Expo 2025  – Europe’s largest annual event that is dedicated to flight crew recruitment and training. The Pilot Expo took place over two days in Brussels airport and brought together various aviation stakeholders including pilots, cadets, flight academies, airlines, simulator manufacturers, software providers, and universities.

On the first day of the event, Dr Gauci gave a presentation on AI in the flight deck – including its applications and challenges – and spoke about the research that is being carried out by IAT in this field. Then, on the second day, Prof. Zammit-Mangion and Dr Gauci participated in a very interesting panel discussion titled ‘Is Future Aviation Even Safer?’ together with Petter Hornfeldt – B737 Captain and Owner of the Mentour Group – and Denys Davydov – B737 Captain and Owner of @PilotBlogDenys. This was a wide-ranging discussion that touched on pertinent topics such as: aviation accidents; flight deck automation; air traffic management; safety culture; crew resource management; aircraft design philosophies; and innovation.

The Pilot Expo also provided an excellent opportunity to promote IAT’s BSc in Air Transport – a fully online dual degree programme for airline pilots that is offered jointly by the University of Malta and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide .