BAY LANGUAGE INSTITUTE WELCOMED 12 IRAQI PILOTS

Mr Wisam Aljumaily; Mr Ismael Hamad; Mr Matthew Puntis (course tutor); Mr Kais Fadhil; Mr Sabah Ahmed; Mr Alawi Al-Barakat; Mr Ibrahim Salman; Mr Imad Taha; Mr Rameez Abbas; Mr Ali Matrok; Mr Jalal Salih; Mr Shaun Fitzhenry (school director) and Mr Duraid

Bay Language Institute, one of only three language schools in South Africa accredited by the South African Civil Aviation Authority as an Aviation Training Organisation, recently welcomed 12 Iraqi pilots on a four week Aviation English course.

The pilots are all employed by the Agricultural Aviation Unit of the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, and needed to upgrade their English Language Proficiency in compliance with the licencing requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation. They were under the leadership of Captain Duraid Al-Ameri, who negotiated the contract on behalf of the Ministry with Bay Language.

Shaun Fitzhenry, bli Director, said “The arrival of the pilots was the culmination of 18 months of negotiation and hard work, and is a real feather in our cap. Being recognised by the Civil Aviation Authorities of other countries as a provider of quality tuition and assessment is key to our continued growth. Despite running into obstacles created by the Home Affairs visa crisis, we were very happy to welcome the pilots, and want to thank the CEO of NMBT and her team for their efforts in helping us overcome the problems we encountered. ”

The pilots and an official from the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority, Mr Hassan Moneer, arrived on Saturday 16 January, and were very impressed with their warm welcome and the city. Mr Moneer inspected the school for compliance with ICAA requirements on Sunday 17 January, and returned to Iraq, via Cape Town, on the following Monday. The group was the first of two, and could well lead to further contracts with various groups in the Iraqi aviation sector.

Bay Language Institute celebrates 10 years in existence this year, and provides English tuition to both foreign language travellers and local students, TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher training courses and foreign and local language courses, including German, Portuguese, Mandarin, isiXhosa and Afrikaans, as well as accredited English Language Proficiency assessment for pilots, air traffic controllers and other aviation personnel. It is accredited as an Aviation Training Organisation by both the South African and Iraqi Civil Aviation Authorities, and has delivered courses for the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority.