The impact of an aviation school in the center of Portugal

Interview with IFA’s Group CEO, José Madeira.

The internationalization of the school is already a reality and has been developing the potential of this region. IFA is creating greater visibility for the city of Viseu to other countries namely France, Ireland, Sweden, Brazil and Cape Verde.

What is the contribution of IFA’s presence in Viseu and the central region of Portugal?

Aviation is a sector that brings together highly qualified labor and, in terms of industry, has high added value. IFA’s presence in the central region and in Viseu in particular is important because the jobs we created, whether direct or indirect, are highly qualified. At the moment, IFA in Viseu has around 15 employees, including administrative staff, marketing and theoretical and practical instructors.

Furthermore, our presence in Viseu offers young students from the interior area a career possibility that many did not even know they could aspire to. This is valid for our entire aviation training scope, which is the largest in Portugal. At this moment, we also have as collaborators in theoretical and practical instruction our own students who have already completed the course.

An airport structure is richer the more traffic it has. All types of movement and life are fundamental to an airport structure. Our presence in Viseu is a great advantage for the structure as we represent half of the aerodrome’s movements. The movements are a very important attribute, but being in the area of instruction with young people it gives more color and life to this structure. Our presence contributes to the continuous development of Viseu’s region.

How does IFA in Viseu represent an advantage for future pilots?

IFA in Viseu has unique characteristics. Any school that moves to less congested areas from the point of view of air traffic has an increased operating capacity and that is what we bet on. In Viseu we were, in fact, able to carry out many hours of flights with little constraints and this is a great benefit because we are able to carry out the courses in a reduced time, which is an attractive factor, especially in international markets. Since 2019, IFA in Viseu has carried out around 7,000 flight hours, corresponding to more than 10,000 movements.

The future for Viseu foresees a continuous investment, with the purchase of equipment, in improving our working and teaching conditions, in the movement of fleet and labor.