5 July 2026

AFRAA Youth in Aviation Event Connects More Than 200 Students with Aviation Careers

More than 200 high school students from across Johannesburg explored careers in aviation during AFRAA’s 2026 Youth Development in Aviation outreach programme, as the continent prepares for significant future demand for pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians.

Training & Skills Development

More than 200 Johannesburg students explored aviation careers at AFRAA’s 2026 Youth in Aviation event, as Africa faces major future skills demand.. Photo credit: @African Pilot // Tim Homan

Why this article matters
Africa’s aviation industry will need more than 23,000 new commercial pilots and 24,000 new aircraft maintenance technicians over the next two decades. Building that workforce requires young people to understand the breadth of aviation careers before they make critical education and career choices.

By bringing students face to face with pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers, civil engineers, instructors and cabin crew professionals, the programme connects long-term industry skills requirements with practical career exposure and mentorship.

More than 200 high school students from across Johannesburg were introduced to careers in aviation during the seventh edition of AFRAA’s Youth Development in Aviation outreach programme.

The African Airlines Association (AFRAA), in collaboration with South African Airways and with sponsorship from Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS), hosted the event on 21 May 2026 at the SAA Museum in Johannesburg.

Held under the theme “African Youth Powering Tomorrow’s Aviation”, the programme gave students an opportunity to explore the range of careers available across the aviation industry through presentations, demonstrations, mentorship discussions and aircraft visits.

Abderahmane Berthé, Secretary General of AFRAA_ Maureen Kahonge, Director of Commercial and Communications at AFRAA_ Moosa Desai, Acting CEO of SAA Technical_ and Peter Boshoff, Chairman of SAA Museum. Photo credit: @African Pilot // Tim Homan

The initiative comes as Africa faces a significant requirement for new aviation professionals. Over the next two decades, the continent is expected to need more than 23,000 new commercial pilots and 24,000 new aircraft maintenance technicians.

Opening remarks were delivered by Abdérahmane Berthé, AFRAA Secretary General; Moosa Desai, Acting CEO of SAA Technical; and Peter Boshoff, President of the SAA Museum.

Students then took part in career showcases presented by the SAA Academy, ATNS, Airports Company South Africa, the South African Civil Aviation Authority and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

Pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers, civil engineers, aviation instructors and cabin crew leaders shared their experiences and discussed the different routes into aviation careers.

A central part of the programme was an interactive aircraft visit and one-on-one mentorship session. Students met aviation professionals at dedicated career stands and explored historic aircraft on display at the museum, giving many of them their first direct exposure to the aviation environment.

The 2026 event marked the seventh edition of AFRAA’s Youth Development in Aviation outreach programme, which has been running since 2021.

The initiative has been delivered with long-standing partners including Collins Aerospace and AFRAA member airlines Kenya Airways, EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines and RwandAir. It also implements recommendations from the AFRAA-Collins Aerospace conference held in October 2021.