HK Express Has Built a Milestone Partnership with HKIAA to Develop Hong Kong's Home Grown Aviation Talent

HK Express Airways (HK Express) and The International Aviation Academy (HKIAA) proudly announced the recruitment of 11 graduates from HKIAA’s first intake of Cadet Pilot Programme as HK Express’s Second Officers. It is also the first airline to employ cadet pilots from HKIAA. An epaulette presentation ceremony was held on the 19th of November to celebrate this milestone event of pilot training in Hong Kong.

The milestone partnership between HK Express and HKIAA will help nurture the next generation of high-quality airline pilots and shape the future of aviation in Hong Kong

Jeanette Mao, CEO of HK Express, said that one of the company's key missions is to nurture local aviation talent and contribute to the city’s long-term growth as an international aviation hub, based on its role as Hong Kong’s only low-cost carrier. HK Express is proud to welcome these cadet graduates to the company and looks forward to watching them take flight – both literally and in their careers. The milestone partnership with HKIAA will help to deepen the mutual collaboration of the two sides and reinforce each other's shared belief in creating opportunities for passionate young people to pursue their flying ambitions. By cultivating local pilot talent, HK Express is also supporting its ongoing route and fleet expansion, as well as its broader people development strategy, and building the foundation for a stronger, more sustainable aviation future for Hong Kong.

Simon Li, President of HKIAA, noted that the academy is committed to nurturing and empowering aviation enthusiasts to drive the sustainable development of the aviation industry in Hong Kong and across the region. HKIAA launched the first Cadet Pilot Programme two years ago to provide aspiring talents with the opportunity to pursue their dreams of becoming civil pilots. He was quite proud to celebrate the success of the graduates as they took on the role of Second Officer at Hong Kong Express. He greatly values the shared commitment with Hong Kong Express and believes their partnership will help nurture the next generation of high-quality airline pilots and shape the future of aviation.

This initiative builds on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between HKIAA and its partnering airlines, including HK Express, in September 2023, which provides cadets with preliminary interviews and subsequent interviews for Second Officer positions for the graduates. Since the launch, the HKIAA Cadet Pilot Programme has successfully completed eight intakes, helping to shape the next generation of Hong Kong pilots.

HKIAA provides students from the Cadet Pilot Programme with the opportunity to undergo flight training in Chengdu, China, or in California, USA. Recently, an A320 flight simulator was introduced to facilitate realistic training scenarios, enhance safety protocols, and prepare students for the demands of modern aviation. The new facility also enables students to complete the multi-crew cooperation course, a mandatory requirement before obtaining a commercial pilot license issued by the Civil Aviation Department.

HK Express CEO Jeanette Mao (front row, third from left), HKIAA President Simon Li (front row, third from right), HK Express Training General Manager Captain Andy Chow (front row, second from left), and HKIAA Flight Training and Engineering Director Jack Ip (front row, second from right) and the eight newly appointed HK Express Second Officers

SAN SALVADOR (AP) — El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele on Saturday denied that human remains handed over to his military teams at Haiti ’s airport were the bodies of the four Salvadorans reported missing after coming under attack by gangs on Oct. 18.

An official with El Salvador ’s government, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter, confirmed that the bodies found were not those of the missing aviation technicians.

The four missing Salvadorans are members of a gang suppression force established by the U.N. Security Council to combat organized crime in the Caribbean nation. Bukele has clarified that the Salvadorans are aviation technicians, not troops trained for combat.

On X, Bukele wrote that a nongovernmental organization handed over the remains of a child, a man “of considerably greater height than that of our air technicians," and another person wearing a uniform different from those worn by Salvadoran personnel.

He did not directly mention a fourth body, but wrote that “among the remains, identification cards and military uniforms from other countries were also found.”

“They are not our men,” Bukele wrote, adding that the organization that handed over the bodies claimed they belonged to the four aviation technicians.

Another official with knowledge of the investigation, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter, told The Associated Press on Saturday night that four bodies were recovered but that there was no confirmation they were the Salvadoran aviation technicians.

The New York Times, citing a humanitarian aid organization, reported that the four bodies found could be those of the Salvadorans, but noted they were “severely burned” and that autopsies were needed to identify them.

El Salvador deployed more than 100 special forces troops to Haiti on Oct. 22 to help rescue the Salvadorans, a day after announcing a military operation and warning the criminals of a more forceful response if the Salvadorans are not released alive and unharmed.

Haiti’s government described the incident as a kidnapping and said the search for the technicians was its top priority.

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, gives a news conference at the presidential palace in San Salvador, El Salvador, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)