APFT ON TRACK FOR FRESH START
Company to resume programmes by Q1 next year with an eye on Asia-Pacific mart
FLIGHT training service provider APFT Bhd wants to improve the standards and boost the number of pilots to meet global demand, starting with the Asia Pacific.
Chief executive officer Siva Kumar Kalugasalam said the current Practice Note 17 (PN17) company was renewing its licences so that it could resume flight training and operations.
“By the first quarter of next year, we will get our licences from the authorities and we will start bringing in students and resume training programmes,” he told the New Straits Times recently.
Siva expressed confidence about the company’s growth in terms of earnings and new recruitment, on the back of European aircraft manufacturer Airbus
SE’s prediction that 540,000 new pilots would be needed worldwide over the next 20 years, including 219,000 in the Asia Pacific.
APFT owns and operates the Asia Pacific Flight Training Academy in Ipoh, where it offers private pilot licence, commercial pilot licence, flight education and training and other aviationrelated services.
The academy has six Piper PA44s, a Piper PA-34 Seneca and a Piper Seminole.
Siva said the company would dispose of two old Diamond DA40 aircraft.
Subsidiaries APFT Aviation Sdn Bhd, APFT Engineering Sdn Bhd and APFT Services Sdn Bhd operate the flight training centre, aircraft maintenance and air charter services, respectively.
“Once we renew our licences, we will recruit six to 12 students per intake, subject to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia’s approval.”
APFT is applying for Approved Flying Training Organisation and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) licences and an air operator’s certificate.
“We are looking at three intakes per year,” he said, adding that the number of inquiries from local and regional students was encouraging.
Siva said the company was on a stronger footing after experiencing boardroom changes.
To recap, APFT was declared a PN17 company on January 19 last year. In July last year, the board of directors sued former director Datuk Faruk Othman for allegedly misappropriating funds, causing the company to fall into the PN17 category.
Business then came to a standstill until April 23 this year.
APFT is targeting to get out of the PN17 status in the first half of 2021 with regularisation and turnaround plans in place.
Siva said APFT had to restart operations from zero and come up with ideas on which lucrative industries the company should be involved in.
“The appointment of a new board in April as well as the restructuring and rationalisation plans are showing promising results.
“The new board wants to position APFT as a ‘wholesaler’ of learning in flight training, MRO, light aircraft servicing and aviation engineering training.
“We want to be a market leader. It is a long process and takes time but we are on the right footing,” he added.