AFAQ signs agreement with NASTECH/FLY NAS Airline

The signing ceremony was held at NASTECH's headquarter in Riyadh and attended by Izani Azman Merican, chief executive officer of NASTECH and Mahmood AlBalooshi, managing director and chief executive of AFAQ Institute of Aviation Technology.

Under the agreement, AFAQ Institute of Aviation Technology will be managing the Aircraft Engineering Maintenance Programme (AEMP) which will be conducted at NASTECH's facilities in Riyadh and is targeted towards Saudi youth with high school certificates.

The programme is scheduled to commence in May 2014 for the duration of five years — 1 year of Aviation English orientation followed by 4 years of studying for the EASA certificate - and will qualify successful trainees with the EASA 147 certificate and EASA Aircraft Maintenance Engineer License issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency.

Mahmood AlBalooshi, managing director and chief executive of AFAQ commented on the agreement saying “We are delighted to announce this key partnership with NASTECH/FLYNAS Airline as the new Academy will be the first of its kind in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and by working together with our partners we will offer Saudi graduates the opportunity to train for their Aerotechnic Engineering degrees in Saudi rather than training abroad.”

Izani Merican, chief executive officer of NAS-TECH, added: “The AEMP is a highly intensive training program that presents a marvelous opportunity for young Saudi technicians to gain the internationally recognized EASA Part 66 Aircraft Engineering License, which qualifies them for a career in aviation industry, one of the fastest growing sectors of the Kingdom's economy.”

According to the latest data available from the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation, more than 64 million passengers passed through Saudi Arabia's 28 airports in 2012, up nearly 19 per cent from 2011, and the Kingdom's domestic air travel market, currently 25-30m passengers annually, is expected to grow 6 percent per year which requires training Saudi youth to cope with the high growth in the Saudi aviation market.