RWANDA: Rwandan Aviation Student Shines At Ethiopian’s Aviation Academy

Ten Rwandan students of the Ethiopian Airlines’ Aviation Academy have graduated, one of them, Vital Nyabenda, coming out as the best student in his course.

All ten had undergone two years of intense training in their field of speciality and the Rwandans, now qualified aircraft mechanics, are returning home to very likely join national airline RwandAir and begin their career.

Cooperation between Ethiopian Airlines and RwandAir is close and the Rwandan national airline does maintain their Bombardier Q400NextGen aircrafts in Addis Ababa for the required major maintenance checks. Chairman of the Board of Directors of RwandAir is former Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake, a hugely respected figure in African aviation while the Commercial Director of RwandAir, Mr. Mikael Gobena is also a former senior executive from Ethiopian who after working for them for 27 years joined RwandAir.

Said a source close to the airline when asked to comment: ‘Rwanda has no aviation school as such. Aviation needs highly skilled and well trained labour. RwandAir trains inhouse but some skills are best found in other leading aviation training schools. The Ethiopian Airlines Aviation Academy has one of the best reputations in Africa. Of course does one have to make use of such institutions. They readily admit students from other African countries. We in Africa should use the resources available on the continent instead of sending our young people far abroad for the same results’.

Present at the graduation was Ethiopian Airlines’ CEO Mr. Tewolde Gebremariam as well as officials of the Rwandan Embassy in Addis Ababa. Congratulations to the graduates and all the best for their future careers in aviation as part of a team of one of the fastest growing airlines on the continent.