Aviation: Stalled international pilot training costing New Zealand $50m a year

An aviation group says New Zealand’s lucrative international pilot training is struggling to recover since the pandemic, losing nearly two-thirds of its value due to the pandemic. Research commissioned by the Aviation Industry Association of New Zealand (AIANZ) shows that at its peak in 2019 the industry was contributing $86 million in gross domestic product (GDP), with 652 international students enrolled and growing strongly. However, Covid-19 and the exit of a major international pilot training school resulted in this plummeting between 2020 and 2021 to a low of 173 students in 2022.

Latest figures for 2023 remain low with 186 students and a GDP of $30.7m, according to the study by independent research group, Scarlatti. Association chief executive Simon Wallace said like many other parts of New Zealand’s international education sector, pilot training was still recovering.



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