Helicopter Pilot Training in Switzerland

The Air Zermatt Training Center passes on what has made the company, founded in 1965, known worldwide: experience from alpine rescue and transport flying. The instructors are themselves on rescue duty every day and share their know-how from the field, at the Zermatt and Raron bases, complemented by simulator training.

Important context: the offering is strongly aimed at pilots, crews and organisations training alpine operational procedures, from mountain flying to rescue techniques. Air Zermatt helped develop procedures such as longline rescue, and the teaching reflects that hands-on focus. Anyone looking for a classical private pilot course is best advised to clarify the right programme directly with the Training Center.

For more than 50 years Air-Glaciers has been one of the defining helicopter operators of western Switzerland, with bases in Sion, Collombey, Leysin, Saanen, Lauterbrunnen and Gampel. Its in-house flight school in Sion is certified as an Approved Training Organisation (CH.ATO.0201) and offers basic and advanced training for helicopter pilots, alongside fixed-wing courses.

Learning here means staying close to real operations: Air-Glaciers flies rescue missions, transport, heliskiing, taxi and agricultural flights in the high Valais mountains, and it is precisely this environment that shapes the training. Binding costs and programmes are provided by the school on request.

Airport Helicopter AHB has been operating since 1993 and is, by its own account, one of the largest helicopter flight schools in Switzerland. Training takes place at several sites: flight instruction for the private pilot licence runs from Luzern-Beromünster, Grenchen or EuroAirport Basel, complemented by the Zürich base for sightseeing and charter flights.

The programme ranges from the private pilot training PPL(H), possible from age 16 with examination from 17, through the commercial pilot training CPL(H) for private pilots with at least 155 flight hours and a Class-1-Medical, all the way to Type Ratings for further helicopter models. Theory training runs in cooperation with partners such as the Swiss HSA. The instructors themselves work in commercial aviation, and after training graduates have access to the fleet within their ratings, a real plus for building hours. Binding costs are provided by the school on request.

Fuchs Helikopter, founded in 1974, operates from its own heliport in Schindellegi high above Lake Zurich and combines the flight school with an active sightseeing, taxi and transport operation. Training is carried out according to the prevailing EASA and FOCA requirements.

The advanced training catalogue is strikingly broad: alongside basic training, Fuchs offers mountain landing training (MOU) to Swiss standard, taught on types ranging from the R44 Cadet through the MD520N and MD530F up to the R66 and H125, with at least 200 landings on mountain landing sites of varying altitude and difficulty. Added to that are external load training (HESLO) using Vertical Reference procedures and night flying training (NIT) with five flight hours plus theory. The varied fleet makes it possible to fly several types. Binding costs are provided by the school on request.

For more than 20 years the Heli Academy has been the home of private and professional pilots in eastern Switzerland, operating under this name since 2020 and run by Heli Sitterdorf AG. At the Sitterdorf, Zürich-Kloten and Speck-Fehraltorf locations the team has, by its own account, already guided several hundred pilots through to licence and covers eastern Switzerland, southern Germany and Vorarlberg.

The entry point is introductory flights and regular information evenings, followed by the roughly one-year course for the private pilot PPL(H), with the option to continue to the commercial pilot training. Extensions such as night flying (NIT), mountain training (MOU) and flight instructor (FI) build on that. An incentive to keep going: anyone completing the full PPL(H) training at the Heli Academy is credited the theory costs as flight credit after passing. Binding costs are provided by the school on request.

The HELI-ALPS Flight School in Sion has been teaching since 1987, originally under the name Groupe Hélico Sion, and has been certified as an Approved Training Organisation since 2014 (CH.ATO.0284). The school is at home in the Valais and additionally present in Ticino, so training takes place where mountain flying actually happens.

The programme comprises introductory flights on dual controls, the private pilot training PPL(H), the commercial pilot training CPL(H), and the extensions mountain landing training (about 20 flight hours for the required 200 mountain landings), night flying qualification and Type Ratings on the school's own fleet. A detail for the cost-conscious, highlighted by the school itself: the modern two-seater Cabri is taught at the price of the R22. Binding costs are provided by the school on request.

Heli-Lausanne trains from the Lausanne-La Blécherette base in line with European standards and the requirements of the Federal Office of Civil Aviation, and is a member of the Swiss Helicopter School Association. The offering ranges from introductory flights through private pilot training to type ratings, including on the modern two-seater Cabri.

Its location on the edge of Lausanne makes the school a leading address for helicopter flying around Lake Geneva, with the Jura, the Vaud Plateau and the Alps as a training area right on the doorstep. Binding costs are provided by the school on request.

Heli-TV is based at Lodrino airfield in the Ticino Riviera and runs the flight school together with the locally based Air Evolution under the umbrella of the Heli Alps Flight School, an officially recognised Approved Training Organisation. For basic training an EC 120 B Colibri is among the aircraft available.

Training is delivered by instructors with many years of experience and thousands of flight hours in the alpine region, for future private and professional pilots alike. The site south of the Gotthard offers a distinctive learning environment between the Ticino valleys and the high Alps. Binding costs are provided by the school on request.

Karen SA is an aviation service provider at Lodrino airfield in the Ticino Riviera and, as an authorised service centre for Leonardo helicopters, primarily active in maintenance and passenger flying. This also includes a training offer for pilots as well as technical training for maintenance personnel.

For training in Ticino, the best approach is to clarify scope and current programmes directly with the school (school@karen.aero); the offer is more specialised than at the large flight schools. Binding costs on request.

Linth Air Service is based at Mollis airfield in the canton of Glarus and combines flight school, maintenance, hangarage and sightseeing operations under one roof. The training offer is, for an operation of this size, remarkably complete: introductory flights, private pilot PPL(H), commercial pilot CPL(H), type ratings on EC120, H125 and MD500, as well as the extensions mountain landing training (MOU), night flying (NIT) and flight instructor (FI).

Mountain training in particular benefits from the location: from Mollis the mountain landing sites of the Glarus and Central Swiss Alps are quickly reached, and practical training covers, alongside landing technique, safety equipment and behaviour in the mountains. Binding costs are provided by the school on request.

Mountain Flyers is a family-run Bernese company with more than 40 years of helicopter experience that trains from the Bern-Belp and Grenchen bases. The flight school accompanies you from the first introductory flight through to the commercial licence and promotes tailored, cost-efficient training packages.

The programme is one of the broadest in the region: private pilot PPL(H), commercial pilot CPL(H) also modular, plus the extensions mountain landing training (MOU), Type Ratings, night flying (NIT), external load training (HESLO), flight instructor training (FI) up to mountain flight instructor, as well as the conversion of foreign licences.

A particular feature is the virtual reality simulator: Mountain Flyers uses it among other things for CPL(H) training on the Airbus H125, Type Ratings and Proficiency Checks, which makes training hours cheaper and independent of the weather. Binding costs are provided by the school on request and are billed according to the actual training volume.

Simplon Air is a small Valais helicopter operator based in Gondo on the Simplon route, combining flight school, crew training and helicopter trading. The company is listed with the Federal Office of Civil Aviation as an operator for specialised aerial work.

The training offer is correspondingly personal and small-scale; scope, programmes and availability are best clarified directly with the operator. Binding costs on request.

Swiss Helicopter runs its flight school within the largest helicopter base network in Switzerland: 15 locations between Bern-Belp, Gstaad, Gsteigwiler-Interlaken, Samedan, Gordola and further bases, several of them with flight school operations. Anyone learning here flies in real Swiss terrain from the start, from the Plateau up to the high mountains.

The training offer covers the full path: introductory flight days and trial lessons with an instructor as entry, private pilot training PPL(H) with theory, then commercial pilot CPL(H)/ATPL(H), mountain landing training (MOU) and further extensions. Mountain training benefits from the company's daily operational practice in alpine transport and sightseeing flying.

Training is conducted among others on the two-seater Cabri G2 and on the turbine types of the in-house fleet. Binding costs are provided by the school in a consultation; as a guideline the operator quotes the PPL(H) from around CHF 40,000.

Partn'Air Training trains from Sion airport, with an additional presence in the Neuchâtel region, as a certified Approved Training Organisation (CH.ATO.0278). The programme comprises the private pilot licence PPL(H) from age 17 with at least 45 flight hours, the lighter LAPL(H) with at least 40 hours, and the commercial pilot training CPL(H) from at least 155 hours of flight experience, including night flying and simulator components.

A particular feature is the training location itself: Sion is a controlled airport in the middle of the Alps, where every movement goes through the tower. Learning here means training radio, procedures and flying in a professional environment from the start, a good preparation for commercial aviation. As a guideline the school cites about one year for the private licence and another for the commercial licence. Binding costs on request.

Rose Helicopter flies from Holziken in Aargau and is the regional address for sightseeing, wedding and event flights as well as introductory and training offers, during which guests are also allowed to take the controls themselves under supervision. The business is owner-run and is praised in guest reviews for its personal service and technically well-kept aircraft.

Anyone considering training in Aargau is best advised to discuss scope and process directly with the team; the offer is deliberately kept personal. Binding costs on request.