ACMI Training Academies by Region in 2026

ACMI leasing is a multidisciplinary airline function. Staff negotiating wet leases need to understand commercial pricing, operational control, regulatory approval, aircraft availability, crew responsibilities, maintenance, insurance, contractual risk and what happens when the aircraft does not perform as planned.

There are surprisingly few academies offering a standalone course called “ACMI leasing.” The strongest training therefore comes from a combination of aviation regulators, airline training organizations, aircraft leasing specialists and aviation universities.

This ranking focuses on courses useful to airline commercial teams, fleet planners, lawyers, operations departments, lessors, regulators and managers involved in wet lease decisions. Generic pilot type-rating schools and simulator “wet training” programs are excluded unless they teach the commercial or regulatory side of aircraft leasing.

Anyone new to the structure should first understand the differences between damp lease, wet lease and ACMI and the wider commercial benefits of ACMI leasing for airlines .

Best ACMI and Aircraft Leasing Training by Region

IALTA Is One of the Most Focused Aircraft Leasing Training Platforms

Before looking region by region, airline technical staff should know about the International Aviation Lease Training Association .

IALTA specializes specifically in aircraft lease training rather than general aviation management. Its programs include Introduction to Aviation Leasing, technical records, engine and landing gear records, lease transition awareness, CAMO subjects and a broader Technical Lease Training Programme.

The technical program covers aircraft lease returns, redelivery meetings, maintenance records, airworthiness directives, service bulletins, life-limited parts, maintenance reserves, physical inspection and repossession planning.

IALTA is therefore particularly relevant to technical services departments, CAMO personnel, engineers, lessors and airline staff responsible for aircraft delivery and redelivery. It is less focused on the commercial economics of short-term ACMI block-hour agreements.

Best ACMI Training Providers in Europe

1. JAA Training Organisation

The Joint Aviation Authorities Training Organisation near Amsterdam Schiphol offers one of the clearest direct introductions to ACMI regulation available in Europe.

Its Introduction to Aviation Regulations course contains a dedicated aircraft-leasing section covering dry leases, wet leases or ACMI agreements, national authority control, the structure of an ACMI contract and the role of aircraft brokers.

That makes JAA TO particularly useful for commercial, legal and operations staff who need to understand how an ACMI agreement sits inside the European regulatory system rather than studying aircraft finance in isolation.

2. UK Civil Aviation Authority International

UK CAA International's Aircraft Leasing course is one of the stronger choices for regulatory and compliance teams.

The program distinguishes between dry, wet and damp leasing, examines UK and international regulatory frameworks and covers the respective obligations of operators and authorities.

It is particularly relevant to flight-operations inspectors, airline compliance staff, legal teams and leasing managers who need to understand whether a proposed structure will be acceptable to the relevant authority.

3. Airbus Leadership University

Airbus offers an Aircraft Operating Lease Market course through Airbus Leadership University in Toulouse.

This is less ACMI-specific than JAA TO, but stronger on leasing economics and negotiation. The course examines different lease and financial structures from the perspectives of manufacturers, airlines and lessors.

Fleet planning, procurement and finance teams can therefore use Airbus training to complement regulatory ACMI knowledge with a stronger understanding of how the wider leasing market works.

Best Aircraft Leasing Training in the Middle East

1. IATA Training in Abu Dhabi

IATA's Abu Dhabi Training Center is one of the strongest regional options for airline commercial and fleet teams.

Its 2026 schedule includes Aircraft Acquisition and Financing, a four-day program covering lease agreements, cross-border structures, aircraft financing, insurance, ownership, registration, risk, repossession and contract negotiation.

The program is aimed at legal advisers, fleet trading managers, leasing analysts, bankers, engineers and government representatives.

An airline ACMI department would still need operational-control and wet-lease-specific training alongside it, but IATA provides a strong commercial and legal foundation.

2. Turkish Airlines Aviation Academy

Turkish Airlines Aviation Academy delivers IATA Aircraft Acquisition and Financing training in Istanbul.

The attraction is the combination of an airline training environment with IATA's established leasing and finance curriculum.

It is a particularly logical option for airline staff from Turkey, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Gulf and neighboring European markets who want classroom training within a major airline ecosystem.

3. Prince Sultan Aviation Academy

Jeddah-based Prince Sultan Aviation Academy is a GACA-approved aviation training organization and ICAO TRAINAIR PLUS participant.

Its Aviation Finance Concepts course is aimed at developing financial understanding inside aviation organizations, including airline financial statements, financial ratios and budgeting.

It is broader than ACMI contracting, but valuable for staff who need to understand the financial consequences of adding leased capacity to an airline operation.

Best ACMI and Aircraft Leasing Training in Africa

1. Ethiopian Civil Aviation Training Academy

The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Training Academy in Addis Ababa is particularly interesting because it has hosted ICAO's Oversight of Aircraft Leasing Operations course.

The ICAO course is directly relevant to ACMI operations. It trains aviation safety inspectors and airline staff responsible for operational control and leasing arrangements to evaluate, approve and oversee aircraft leasing operations.

Subjects include evaluation of leasing applications, approval of proposed leasing structures and continued surveillance after the lease has been authorized.

This is especially valuable to African civil aviation authorities and airline operations departments dealing with foreign-registered wet-leased aircraft.

2. Skills for Africa

Nairobi-based Skills for Africa offers a dedicated Aircraft Leasing and Finance Essentials program.

The course is delivered in Nairobi and online, with additional sessions periodically offered in other international locations.

It is better suited to airline management, finance and procurement staff looking for a broader introduction to aircraft acquisition and lease finance than to regulators requiring formal operational-oversight training.

3. East African School of Aviation

Kenya's East African School of Aviation is not an ACMI-specialist academy, but it is one of the strongest institutional options for building the supporting regulatory and airline-management skills required around aircraft leasing.

Its programs cover executive civil aviation management, flight operations, auditing, quality management, safety and regulatory subjects for airlines and aviation authorities across Africa.

Airlines creating an ACMI unit from scratch may therefore use specialist leasing training alongside broader operations and compliance training from EASA.

Best Aircraft Leasing Training in Asia-Pacific

1. Singapore Aviation Academy

Singapore Aviation Academy deserves particular attention because it developed ICAO's Oversight of Aircraft Leasing Operations course.

The five-day program is designed for aviation safety inspectors and airline personnel responsible for operational control and aircraft leasing arrangements.

It teaches participants to evaluate proposed leasing arrangements, determine whether an application is complete, approve leasing structures and establish surveillance procedures after approval.

For regulatory and airline operations personnel, this is one of the most directly relevant aircraft-leasing courses available anywhere in the world.

2. Embry-Riddle Asia

Embry-Riddle's Asia operation provides access to professional education in aircraft finance and leasing from Singapore.

Its aircraft finance and leasing curriculum covers the aircraft leasing industry, aviation law, funding, airline credit analysis and lease-versus-buy decisions.

This is a stronger fit for finance, strategy and leasing professionals than for day-to-day wet-lease operational-control teams.

3. IATA Online Asia

IATA also schedules Aircraft Acquisition and Financing classes through its Asia virtual classroom.

This gives airlines outside Singapore access to structured commercial and legal leasing training without sending staff overseas.

Best Aircraft Leasing Training in North America

1. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Embry-Riddle Professional Education offers dedicated Aircraft Leasing and Financing training online.

The course covers the aircraft leasing industry, regulatory framework, aircraft funding, airline credit analysis and lease-versus-buy evaluation.

Embry-Riddle also participates in ISTAT University , whose curriculum covers leasing, risk management, aircraft funding, maintenance reserves, transaction modeling and lease negotiation.

For people building a career on the financial and asset-management side of aircraft leasing, this is one of North America's strongest academic pathways.

2. Purdue University

Purdue Polytechnic's aviation management curriculum includes a dedicated Aircraft Leasing course .

Students evaluate leasing versus ownership, debt and equity markets, taxation, maintenance reserves and aircraft financial performance.

Like Embry-Riddle, Purdue is strongest for people seeking deep financial and asset-management competence rather than a short operational ACMI workshop.

Best Aircraft Leasing Training in Latin America

1. Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana

Medellín's Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana aircraft-transition course is unusually practical.

The 48-hour program focuses specifically on aircraft entering and leaving fleets under lease contracts.

Topics include aircraft delivery and acceptance, incoming inspections, import procedures, introduction into service, lease termination, redelivery inspections, export and aircraft return to the owner.

For technical departments at Latin American airlines, this is substantially more relevant than a generic aviation-finance seminar.

2. ATEGA

Argentina's ATEGA airline training program approaches leasing from the aviation-law and airline-management side.

The curriculum includes aircraft financing, purchase and sale, operator licensing and aircraft leasing together with broader international aviation law.

It is therefore particularly relevant to lawyers, commercial managers and regulatory personnel rather than technical lease-transition specialists.

3. IATA Spanish-Language Aircraft Leasing Training

IATA offers Adquisición y Financiamiento de Aeronaves in Spanish through its virtual classroom.

The program covers operating and finance lease agreements and is a useful option for Spanish-speaking airline staff who do not have access to an appropriate local classroom course.

What a Serious ACMI Training Program Should Teach

Sending one employee to a generic aircraft-finance course does not create an ACMI capability inside an airline. A serious internal training program needs to cover the entire wet-lease transaction.

ACMI World covers many of these subjects independently in our guide to key terms in aircraft leasing contracts and our breakdown of what airlines actually pay for ACMI capacity .

Long-Term Leasing Requires a Different Skill Set

Staff working on long-term dry leases need much deeper technical asset-management knowledge than a commercial department sourcing three months of summer ACMI capacity.

Maintenance reserves, return conditions, technical records, life-limited parts, engine shop visits, airworthiness directives and aircraft condition become central economic issues.

This is where organizations such as IALTA and universities with dedicated aircraft-leasing curricula become particularly valuable.

ACMI World examines these issues further in aircraft maintenance reserves and aircraft redelivery conditions .

Which Course Fits Which Airline Department?

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