The International Air Transport Association has announced the launch of an advanced aviation training program in partnership with the Ecole nationale de l’aviation civile in Toulouse, France.

This is the first time that IATA has partnered with a university to offer an airline operations degree.

Through the IATA Training and Development Institute experts from across several key areas of the business will be teaching courses such as Aviation Fuel Management, Airline Business Foundations, Safety Management Systems for Airlines, Crisis Management, and much more.

ENAC will bring every aspect of their rich history and prestigious reputation in the field of aviation education to the partnership.

“Creating innovative partnerships for the mutual benefit of our stakeholders is very important to IATA,” said Tony Tyler, IATA director general.

“By joining our expertise with that of ENAC we will help to build the pool of qualified and competent aviation professionals needed to operate, manage and grow the international air transport system to meet future demand.”

The Advanced Master Degree in Airline Operations combines operational expertise and comprehensive academic rigor.

Working aviation professionals from around the world are encouraged to find out about the qualifying criteria in their region.

”This educational partnership will help to develop the next generation of senior airline operations professionals.

“We welcome the opportunity to join forces with the experienced and broad capabilities of IATA,” said ENAC president Marc Houalla.

Offered as of September 2015, the program focuses on a number of key areas including human factors in aviation, IT tools for airlines, safety management systems for airlines, emergency response planning and crisis management and airlines training.