AVIC International Flight Training Academy (AIFA) is a joint venture between AVIC-International and TFASA and is situated on three bases in South Africa, George, Oudtshoorn and Beaufort West.
It is one of only 24 schools in the world with Civil Aviation Authority of China, CAAC, accreditation to train Chinese airline cadets. The school started in 2010 and has since developed into the biggest flying school in South Africa and Africa. The complete aircraft fleet was bought new with the latest Garmin 1000 glass cockpit technology. AIFA currently has 19 Cessna 172, 12 Piper Warriors, 7 Piper Seminole twin engine aircraft, as well as 3 King Air C90 aircraft and more older generation aircraft.
The typical Chinese enrolment is 250 cadets a year from various Chinese airlines, which will increase to 400 in the next three to four years (using reliable Covid recovery predictions and the current recovery rate in China). The local and regional students are also increasing dramatically due to the new fleet of aircraft. The complete top structure of the school comprises of ex-military pilots, navigators and instructors. Discipline and safety being top priority. Flying hours typically is more than 43’000 hours per year.
