Train in local flying schools, aviation students told

Kenyans aspiring to become pilots have been urged to join local flying schools and ignore the notion that training in some foreign countries is better.

Captain Sestilio Jamus, the chief flight instructor at the Kenya School of Flying and the chief pilot for Aeronav air services on Saturday  said local flying schools have been offering competent training that is up to par internationally.

In October last year, the High Court dismissed a petition seeking to block Kenya Airways from training its pilots in South Africa.

The petition had been filed by Busia senator Okiya Omtatah who claimed that the company had continued to receive public funds to keep it afloat, faulting it for using the funds to train its pilots outside the country.

In 2019, Kenya Airways sent pilots under its Ab initio pilot trainee program to South Africa for training but the programme was suspended indefinitely in 2020 due to covid-19 pandemic.

The company however denied using public monies to fund the program saying it obtained loans from a local financial institution to individual pilot trainees (cadets) who benefited from the program.

Judge Hedwig Ongundi said Omtatah had not proven that the monies given to the airline by the government were used for program.

Some locally trained pilots have been lamenting that they are unable to acquire employment with the national carrier and have to seek jobs from smaller airlines that pay much less.

This has put some students under pressure to undertake the course in South Africa with the hope of being more competitive after graduation.

But having flown in both Kenya and South Africa, Jamus dismissed claims that the latter offers more competent training saying they are both on the same level.

Kenya, he said, has 19 licensed flying schools and that those who train in South Africa have to undertake a conversion course that would cost them more money and time when they come back to the country.

He was speaking at the Kenya School of Flying where he flew 48 Junior Secondary School students from Pioneer School in Murang’a.

“Its always best to train at home. I have seen the standards in both countries and in Kenya, the standards are quite good," Jamus said.

“I wouldn’t advocate for people to go to South Africa because we have competent schools that observe international standards. To some extent, it’s better here because you familiarize with the airspace in good time,” he said.

The country currently has 12,000 registered pilots, some of whom have retired, others hold Private Pilot Licenses while others have not gone past the student pilot license.

Jamus however noted that the sector was hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and that it lost many pilots while others were pushed into early retirement.

He said the industry is recovering and that the main challenge has been to fill the gaps left by the pilots who either died or retired considering the course is quite expensive and not a lot of people are able to afford it in good time.

He encouraged students with a passion for flying to pursue the career professionally saying it is an exhilarating experience.

“Even locally, Just imagine waking up in Nairobi, having lunch in Mombasa then fly to Kisumu for some nice fish in the evening”.

“Internationally, you can have breakfast in Nairobi, lunch in Johannesburg, and dinner in Accra. It’s an amazing life,” the 29 years old pilot who has been in the industry for 12 years told the excited students.

Stanley Kinyanjui, the teacher in charge of JSS at Pioneer Boys high school said the institution has been offering Aviation courses since 2002 and is proud to have produced a number of commercial pilots.

He said every new batch of students is taken to Kenya School of Flying for an orientation that helps them decide whether they want to pursue the course.

The trip enables students to interact with both pilots and engineers and get a ‘feel’ of the profession.

Piston Mureithi, a student, said it has been his childhood dream to become a pilot and could not hide his excitement after taking a 30-minute flight aboard a Cessna aircraft.

“This experience was wonderful.  I am now more motivated to pursue aviation and achieve my goal,” he said.

Allan Wahome, another student, said he hopes to fly his family to an exotic destination one day after becoming a pilot.

Wahome said as the other students screamed in flight as the aircraft meandered in the air, it pumped him full of excitement.