Young pilot trainee Shlok Bajpai landed in Whanganui this week as part of the largest cohort of international students in the region since borders closed two years ago.

The 20-year-old was one of the first of 54 students from across India set to arrive for training at the Whanganui flight school, the New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy (NZICPA).

He says he came to Whanganui because of the pilot academy’s strong international reputation.

“NZICPA, in particular, they have a very good student to instructor ratio of about one to 10 (which is an industry-high standard), weather that is conducive to flying, and state-of-the-art infrastructure. New Zealand has a very good reputation for flight training.”

Thirty of the 54 students – 14 of whom are female – landed in Whanganui this week and the rest, who are awaiting visas, are expected in early May.

The pilot academy is considered a key economic development initiative for the Whanganui community. It was established and is owned by Whanganui District Council through its holding company, Whanganui District Council Holdings Limited (WDCHL).

WDCHL bought Flight Training Manawatū, a small flight school in Feilding, built a professional pilot training complex at Whanganui Airport in 2016 and began operating the school out of Whanganui in 2017.

Hit hard by border closures over the past two years, the pilot academy has survived on 20 students and $500,000 in interest-free loans from the Council.

The academy’s acting chief executive and chief flying instructor Ray Nelson said the long-awaited return of international students puts the pilot academy firmly back on a growth path.

“Fifty-four students is a game-changer for us at this point in time,” Nelson said.

“The last two years of Covid has affected our operations significantly. We are lucky that our shareholder is the local council, and they’ve been absolutely supportive throughout that period.

“Our student body is made up of 70 per cent international students. Over the last two years, through the Covid period, we have seen a reduction in student numbers.

“The significance of international students returning, and in particular these 54, is to bring us back to pre-Covid levels and into a growth period again to get us back on track for our goal of 200 student enrolments by 2024.”

Nelson said the academy was lucky to have its first significant intake of international students in February 2020, two weeks before the first Covid lockdown.

“We had our highest student number at that point and had the benefit of having them through 2020 and 2021, keeping flight training operations going.”

Those students were the first from a cadetship scheme with Indian airline IndiGo set up in 2019.

“We were invited to India to pitch a programme and we were successful. It is quite a prestigious cadetship programme – not many schools are partnered with them around the world. So we were really geared for and had been driving under a managed growth plan to see at least 25 international students arriving every three months.

“We’re looking forward to regaining that momentum into 2023.”

The international students are in Whanganui for between a year to 15 months, depending on the qualification they seek.

“Not all of them are from IndiGo’s cadet programme. In this group it’s about half. After graduating, the cadets go back to India for more airline-specific training. The other students also go back for more training and then hit the airline job market in India.

“The airline industry and job opportunities for them in India are significant.”

Nelson said the pilot academy was working with the Ministry of Education to bring a second cohort to Whanganui in the second half of the year.

It also has about 20 domestic students at any time on its two-year diploma and aviation programme.

Lou Tyson Walker, Strategic Lead Capability for economic development agency Whanganui & Partners, says the intake of 54 will have a significant economic impact.

“Until 2019, when the Covid pandemic drastically affected student numbers, we tracked the international student contribution to the economy. At that point, international students (including secondary students) added on average $44,951 each to our economy (yearly),” Tyson Walker said.

“There are lots of clear ways students help our economy grow. They contribute in the form of fees to a local business or school – NZICPA in this case, but UCOL and language or secondary schools in others. They also enable job growth through the infrastructure that forms to support their stay. So tutors, cleaners, food service providers, maintenance people and others all gain contracts because of their time here.

“And of course the students explore, shop and socialise while they are studying in Whanganui, which is particularly important at a time when our hospitality and visitor industries have been impacted by the pandemic.

“The students who study here are gaining specialist skills that help to internationally distinguish Whanganui as a significant study destination. These students, who will one day be flying all over the world, will remember and promote Whanganui both in their professional and private lives.”

Tyson Walker said the students would also contribute to the city’s social and cultural wealth, allowing locals to build cross-cultural skills and gain better understanding of other cultures.

Bajpai, an IndiGo cadet pilot, said he appreciated the effort by NZICPA staff to keep the programme running for the past two years, allowing students to complete some modules remotely.

After gaining his commercial pilot licence in Whanganui, he will return to India to convert it into an Indian licence before travelling to Abu Dhabi for rating on the type of aircraft flown by IndiGo. He will then return to India to fly for IndiGo.

The passenger airline is the biggest low-cost carrier in India, he said, with a 52 per cent market share. It holds the record for the biggest Airbus order in history and has between 3500 and 4000 pilots, he said.

Bajpai is from the central western city of Pune, population 4.5 million. He said he’s keen to tackle some of the adventure activities the country offers, including the Tongariro crossing.

He is also a keen footballer who played professionally in India before quitting to study, and he wants to join a local club as well as find some volunteer work in the community.

Most of the students in the new intake are aged between 18 and 25. The pilot academy provides 24-hour pastoral care and support.

Nelson said previous students have enjoyed coming to small-town Whanganui.

“We provide a really nice managed student accommodation in Whanganui with fantastic facilities,” Nelson said.

“We engage with the students before they leave their country, help with their visa processing, pick them up with the airport, accommodate them throughout their training, and help them into volunteer programmes in the local community.

“We have a soccer team and a basketball team, they play in local leagues, and we’ve had students play in local cricket teams. Equally, with volunteer programmes, Meals on Wheels and the likes, the international students love it.

“[Whanganui is] a bit of a breath of fresh air. It’s a fantastic place for them to focus on their flight training and also to give back to the local community.”

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air