The first batch of students at the Maldivian Aviation Academy, a joint venture between the Island Aviation Service (IAS) and the Maldives National University (MNU), are completing their flight hours.
The first round of flight hours will be given to 35 students who have completed 150 hours of the refresher theory classes. In this regard, six students began building their flight time on Sunday.
A second batch of 39 students has already started the refresher program at the Aviation Academy. Island Aviation said students of the second batch would be given the opportunity to fly when the first batch students complete their flying requirements.
Island Aviation is working to complete the flight hours of 74 students before the end of the year and commence a third batch.
Most students in the first batch of the Maldivian Aviation Academy were students of the Asian Academy of Aeronautics (AAA), which ran a flight school at Gan International Airport for the past 12 years. However, after the students at AAA faced several problems and could not complete their flying hours from 2020 onwards, the government did not renew the agreement with AAA when it expired on July 31 last year.
The Maldivian Aviation Academy was officially inaugurated on December 28 last year. The academy started its classes on January 10 this year.
The Czech Republic's "Flying Academy" has been awarded the contract to run the Maldivian Aviation Academy. Flying Academy is one of the most recognized companies in Europe for the operation of flying schools.
The in-house classes of the Maldivian Aviation Academy will be conducted at the MNU campus in Addu City. The Aviation Academy will be operated in Gan, where Gan International Airport is located.
When the Maldivian Aviation Academy started its studies, priority was given to students whose pilot training were interrupted for various reasons. In addition to training pilots, other aviation training will also be conducted at the school. The Maldivian Aviation Academy will accommodate 80 students annually.
