As the world grapples with a shortage of pilots, Qantas Airways Ltd. is taking matters into its own hands.

The Australian airline is setting up a school to train as many as 500 pilots a year, it said Thursday as it reported record first-half profits. The carrier will initially produce about 100 pilots a year just for Qantas, and other airlines could ultimately pay for training at the facility, Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce told reporters.

The Qantas facility due to open in 2019 will meet just a fraction of the industry's needs. The Asia-Pacific region alone will require more than a quarter of a million new pilots by 2036, about 40 percent of the global total needed, according to Boeing Co.

Click here to read more about Qantas's record first-half results

Qantas will initially invest as much as A$20 million (US$16 million) in the school, to be based in regional Australia, Joyce said.