CAA lifts suspension on NZICPA flight training

Published on 25 July 2025

A staged return to flight training can now begin at the New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy (NZICPA) after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) formally lifted its suspension of the academy’s Part 141 Certificate today.

The CAA temporarily suspended flying operations at the academy in May, resulting in many of NZICPA’s 145 enrolled students pausing their flight training. Theoretical ground instruction has continued for some students during this period.

NZICPA director Craig Compain says, “This milestone reflects the NZICPA team’s significant effort and dedication in to addressing the CAA’s concerns.”

In a letter, the CAA noted that NZICPA had provided assurance of safety and compliance and that the board and senior team have demonstrated this by enacting a recovery plan and implementing appropriate systems and procedures across the organisation.

“NZICPA will continue to work very closely with the CAA to ensure that all implemented changes provide ongoing assurance of safe and effective training practices,” says Compain.

“Students will be contacted over the next two weeks with information on when they can expect to resume their training,” he says.

Conditions on the airworthiness certificates of NZICPA aircraft have been extended for a further 90 days. To date, five aircraft have received certificates of airworthiness from the CAA and have returned to service, however, operations at the academy remain restricted. Leased aircraft are being sourced to increase the training capacity at the academy in the short term.

More of the academy’s 29-strong fleet will be submitted to the CAA for review in the coming weeks. As the number of available aircraft increase, management will begin the process of bringing further students back to the academy to complete their training.

“We acknowledge the trust and commitment the cadets have shown over the last seven weeks and we will be working very hard to increase our capacity to train as it is safe to do so,” says Compain.

Following a consultation process, the academy this week made the difficult decision to reduce the number of full-time roles from 20 to 10 to align staffing with its new operational requirements.

“While lifting of the CAA suspension allows the academy to begin implementing its recovery plan, resourcing requirements remain reduced for now as a gradual and controlled expansion of both fleet and student capacity begins,” says Compain.