AFTA delivers €35m annual economic benefit to Munster

Flight training academy has trained 2,800 pilots since 1995

Tue, 13 May, 2025 - 12:47

Alan Healy

The Atlantic Flight Training Academy (AFTA), which has trained 2,800 pilots, has a €35m annual economic impact on the regional economy.

A new economic and social impact report shows that Captain Mark Casey's firm has a direct impact of €22m and an indirect impact of €13m across Munster through salaries, aircraft maintenance, fuel supplies, spending by students and further wider impacts. AFTA will employ an additional 15 staff at its Cork and Waterford facilities, bringing its total headcount as an SME to 85.

AFTA works with a variety of airlines, training pilots for Ryanair, Air Astana, VistaJet, ASL, GlobeAir, Turkish Airlines and Pegasus.

The report, researched and authored by Dr Pio Fenton of the Munster Technological University (MTU) shows that Cork firm has made a significant economic contribution to Munster as well as supporting growth across the entire region, through job creation, tourism development, international (airline) partnerships and investment in sustainable aviation.

Marking its 30th anniversary, AFTA's early cadets received their pilot training at Cork Airport in one twin-engined aircraft. Today, the Academy has expanded its training fleet to 26 training aircraft, along with state-of-the-art flight simulators and three survey aircraft.

“AFTA is a complex business that operates in an intricate ecosystem across the region and beyond," Dr Fenton said, adding that it was at the heart of a complex supply chain that requires a carefully crafted mixture of people, technology and commodity. "As a relatively large employer in the SME context, it has a strong direct impact through salary and other factors of €22m. Its indirect impact is approximately €1m with a significant induced impact of €11m. This latter figure is a result of economic activity resulting from strong international student base. There is a further visitor spend impact of just under €1m.," he said.

Captain Casey, AFTA's CEO and Head of Training, said the report isn’t just about numbers. "It’s a record of what can happen when education, industry, and community work together. I want to give a special thank you to MTU and in particular, Dr. Fenton, who played an instrumental role in bringing this report to life," he said.

"As we look ahead to the next 30 years, we’re not resting on our achievements. Aviation is changing rapidly — new technologies, new fuels, new global challenges. But at the heart of it all, we still need people who are passionate, capable, and resilient. Our job is to prepare our cadets — not just to fly aircraft, but to lead, to adapt, and to shape the future of this industry."

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