New Zealand Airline Academy (NZAA) based at Oamaru Airport, New Zealand has welcomed its first international students again since March 2022 and has announced that it is onboarding two new aircraft in April to prepare for the increase in cadets.

“Academy chief executive Jonathan Manuel said two international students had arrived and another 18 were expected by the end of the month. They were all cadets as part of the academy’s training partner contract with AirAsia India.”

NZAA had exclusively trained international students before the pandemic and was hit hard by the travel restrictions which resulted in the school going from more than 80 students to just having 10 students remaining to complete their training.

“Had they kept the borders closed for longer, then we would probably have had to shut down.” Mr Manuel said.

“In 2019, NZAA secured a contract with AirAsia India to train commercial pilots for the airline in Oamaru. Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher travelled to India with Mr Manuel to sign the agreement, and cadets started arriving in Oamaru later that year.”

For more information, kindly contact NZAA.

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