NZICPA and Whanganui District Council joint media release

Published on 17 June 2025

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and New Zealand International Commercial Pilots Academy (NZICPA) have agreed a pathway to resuming the academy’s operations, following a directive issued by the CAA on 23 May to temporarily ground aircraft.

The CAA has maintained a suspension of operations at NZICPA for a period of ten days, after which it will review its decision. NZICPA is working with urgency to meet the conditions established in the CAA report, including specific conditions attached to each aircraft, to get the suspension lifted.

Academy chief executive Gerard Glanville has tendered his resignation and this has been accepted by the board.

NZICPA board chair Matthew Doyle says discussions with a potential new chief executive are progressing well. “We are now focused on supporting students and staff through this disruption.”

He says, “A student support plan has been formulated and shared with NZQA to ensure student welfare is prioritised. The NZICPA board is acutely aware of the stresses on the students at this time and the importance of acting quickly to minimise disruption to their training programmes.”

Whanganui Mayor, Andrew Tripe, says he’s pleased with the progress being made and the reasonable timeframes agreed.

“Our priority here is the safety and wellbeing of staff and students at NZICPA and to ensure the long-term interests of ratepayers are protected. We will continue to ask tough questions of the academy while we support them to fulfil the conditions set out by the CAA and swiftly resolve the issues identified.

“We are in ongoing communication with all impacted parties. They have been advised of the pathway forward and are satisfied with the steps being taken to get the academy back operating safely and as quickly as possible,” he adds.