As Africa continues to look toward the East, the number of pilots heading toChinafor training is on the increase.

In addition to commercial pilots, this includes pilots in the military, who are winging their way to high ranking military academies inChina.

According to figures from the Kenyan Ministry of Transport, this year alone, the country has sent about 200 pilots to be trained inChina, in addition to a handful of others on refresher courses.

“We as a region are seeing the relationship withChinaimprove and there are a lot of expectations betweenChinaand the region. More opportunities will open doors for East Africa andChina. With investments of more than $4 billion inKenyaalone this year,” Titus Naikuni, CEO of Kenya Airways, toldChinAfrica.

“There is an increase in demand for pilots in the region as the aviation industry continues to grow. We at Kenya Airways have some of the best pilots in Africa who have trained inChina,” Naikuni said.

SunRise Flight Academy has the largest concentration of pilots from the East Africa region. A growing number of airlines are also partnering with Chinese institutions on refresher courses. “I can tell you this is a good idea. We are witnessing less incidences of airplane crashes and better service for our clients,” Naikuni said.

Pilots fromTanzaniahave also been trained inChinaas the Chinese continue to ramp up investment in the country. Recently, Chinese contractors renovated Julius Nyerere International Airport inDar es Salaam. Despite the increased cross-cultural exchanges, some critics fear that Africa may be affected by brain drain, as some of the most talented pilots and other professionals opt for other opportunities after advanced training.

“There is a lot to lose in coming years as the brain drain problem of pilots will be felt. There is great need of skilled pilots but we are now losing them to other countries. We need to have programs that give our pilots motivation to continue working here,” said Samson Munywoki, a sociology lecturer from the United States International University inNairobi.

Despite the threat that brain drain poses to the region, many Kenyan pilots trained inChinahave returned home to start their own flight service businesses, according to the Kenyan Ministry of Transport. In the last three years, more than 40 pilots have returned toKenyafromChinaand another 23 Tanzanian pilots have returned to their home country after training.

The cooperation doesn’t stop with commercial pilots.ChinaandKenyahave also inked agreements concerningKenya’s air force pilots. Next year,Kenyaplans to send 200 air force pilots toChinafor refresher courses, according to Julius Karangi, head of staff of the Kenya Defence Forces.

“We need to improve our already powerful air force to be even better. We believeChinahas the answer to our needs and queries,” Karangi toldChinAfrica.

Ethiopiaremains the best equipped and most skilled air force in the region and has so far not shown any interest in pilot training inChina. South Sudan is already in talks withChinawhileUgandahas jump started programs to train its pilots inChina. As far as other East Africans countries,RwandaandBurundihave not expressed any interest in training their pilots inChinabutMalawihas expressed some interest. So far,Kenyahas the largest concentration in East Africa of pilots receiving training inChina.

“Chinais a friend of the region. Both sides are benefiting a lot economically,” Karangi said. 

 According to the Ministry of Transport, the Kenyan private sector needs about 200 new pilots per year as the aviation industry continues to expand in terms of aviation companies and customer base.

On the converse AVIC-International Flight Training Academy (AIFA) based inGeorge,South Africa, receives most of its pilots from NUAA-International Flying Academy (NAFA), a joint venture company established inChinaand invested by Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA). AIFA is committed to establishing a quasi-military, professional, international  training organization. According to the AIFA website, the training center will increase its capacity of Chinese pilot cadets to 400 by 2015.

 (Reporting fromKenya)