Waterford pilots celebrate 30 years of AFTA in business
L-R Representing the French Ambassador, Hon.Consul of France in Cork, Josselin Le Gall, Capt. Mark Casey AFTA Founder and CEO, Juliette Kelly and Sean Kelly MEP.
Pilots from Atlantic Flight Training Academy (AFTA) have attended the Black Tie-Aviation Ball.
The event was to honour former pilot instructors and staff at Atlantic Flight Training Academy as they celebrate 30 years in business at Cork and Waterford Airports.
Over 100 pilots from across the world attended the event at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Little Island.
In his speech, AFTA founder and CEO, Captain Mark Casey, acknowledged the support of AFTA’s staff and partners.
“The great people we have within AFTA are certainly the secret of our success.
"It must be said that there is no doubt that AFTA would not be at the scale it is without the success, support and growth of our airline partners over the past 30 years.
"The aviation powerhouse that is Ryanair continues to go from strength to strength. Ryanair has been a huge supporter of AFTA since its inception and we are ever-grateful for the continued cadet programmes we offer as a partner school in the Ryanair Future Flyer Academy. We have been joined at the hip for 30 years, and it is often said internally that we share the same DNA," said Captain Casey.
Captain Casey expressed gratitude to global partners Air Astana, VistaJet, ASL Airlines and GlobeAir, calling them "invaluable".
"While AFTA is reliant on our Airline partners, all our non-airline partners are equally important.
"These include the IAA, our university partner MTU, the DAA, Cork Airport, AirNav Ireland, Representing the French Ambassador, Hon. Consul of France in Cork, Josselin Le Gall and Enterprise Ireland and all the external regulatory bodies we work closely with.
"Without their continued support, we could not educate the next generation of airline pilots successfully,” said Captain Casey.
AFTA trains commercial pilots in partnership with Munster Technological University (MTU) for the global airline industry.
The academy has trained over 2,800 pilots since 1995.
The event coincided with the graduation of the Class of 2023-2024.
Ireland South MEP Sean Kelly, who was guest of honour at the event, commended Mark Casey, AFTA CEO and his team for 30 years in business.
