KUCHING: State-owned Hornbill Skyways Sdn Bhd has difficulty in recruiting helicopter pilots because of competition from Middle East countries.

Its executive chairman, Aidan Wing, said Middle East countries offered experienced helicopter pilots many times more pay than what other countries could offer.

"We are facing this kind of competition which we cannot match," he said when sending off six pilot and aircraft maintenance engineer trainees at the Hornbill Skyways hangar here.

"As we expand, we need more pilots for our helicopters."

Aidan said the vacancies for five helicopter pilots in Hornbill Skyways had not been filled up yet because they preferred to work in the Middle East.

The company has 10 pilots for its 10 helicopters but over the next few years, it will acquire more aircraft. Due to its inability to recruit experienced helicopter pilots, the company is working with Yayasan Sarawak to train pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers.

Yayasan Sarawak has allocated RM2 million to train two pilot and four aircraft maintenance engineer trainees.

The two pilot trainees will attend an 18-month course at Integrated Training and Services Sdn Bhd while the four engineer trainees will undergo a three-year course at the Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology, both in Peninsular Malaysia.

Hornbill Skyways would send more student pilots every other year until such time its manpower requirements were met.

"We will also be sending more students to undertake aircraft maintenance engineering courses this year and next year,"

Yayasan Sarawak director Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki said the foundation has allocated RM10 million to send students to local institutions to be trained as pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers this year.