Pan Am International Flight Academy (PAIFA) is an

aviation school Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

that specializes in training airlines, pilots and aviation professionals from around the world. It is the only remaining division of

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...

, which declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

in January 1991 and shut down in December of that year. Under the terms of the bankruptcy, the flight academy was allowed to remain open independently. It is presently owned by the holding company of

All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...

. In 2017 Pan Am International Flight Academy was awarded the Corporate Achievement Award by the Greater Miami Aviation Association recognizing the contributions of the corporation to the aviation industry. Pan Am International Flight Academy, Denver, was awarded the Export Achievement Certificate by the Denver office of the U.S. Commercial Services Division, a branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

History

In 1980, Pan American World Airways' International Flight Academy opened for business in a new building located at the

Miami International Airport Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most c ...

(MIA). This training division operated until the airline closed on December 4, 1991. Under the terms of the airline bankruptcy, the training academy was permitted to remain open independently in 1992 under its current name, Pan Am International Flight Academy. The company began operations by using the

flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they re ...

of the former airline at the same campus location. In 2006, American Capital Strategies invested $58 million in Pan Am. Pan Am International Flight Academy, based out of Miami International Airport, has trained a substantial number of students from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. In 2010, Pan Am International Flight Academy purchased Miami-based Aeroservice Aviation Center, LLC, located only a few blocks away. Under the terms of this agreement, Pan Am purchased all of Aeroservice's training and simulator assets, adding significantly to Pan Am's Miami training capabilities, classrooms, and campus size. On July 30, 2013, ANA Holdings, the holding company of

, announced they will acquire Pan Am Holdings, including Pan Am International Flight Academy.

Aviation school

The flight academy, headquartered in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, trains pilots and aviation professionals from around the world. In 2017 Pan Am International Flight Academy trained over 5,000 individuals. Core training programs include pilot training, airline crew training, type rating training, ATP-CTP,

aircraft maintenance Aircraft maintenance is the performance of tasks required to ensure the continuing airworthiness of an aircraft or aircraft part, including overhaul, inspection, replacement, defect rectification, and the embodiment of modifications, compliance ...

training,

flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...

or cabin crew training, dispatchers,

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...

, and career pilot academy or

ab initio ''Ab initio'' ( ) is a Latin term meaning "from the beginning" and is derived from the Latin ''ab'' ("from") + ''initio'', ablative singular of ''initium'' ("beginning"). Etymology Circa 1600, from Latin, literally "from the beginning", from ab ...

training at their location in

Kissimmee Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

The academy has training centers located throughout the United States and access to many centers around the world. The company, along with its licensed partners, has more than 200 aviation training programs and is certified to train pilots under major international authorities including: the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

, the

European Aviation Safety Agency The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monito ...

, the

Civil Aviation Administration of China The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the Chinese civil aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents. As the aviation authority responsible f ...

, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, the

Civil Aviation Authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and others. It currently owns and operates more than 70 simulators and trains on the

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 2 ...

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...

-200/400,

Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...

Boeing 777 The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet. The 777 was designed to bridge the gap betw ...

Airbus A320 family The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the fam ...

, and Saab 340.

September 11 attacks

On August 17, 2001, Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called "20th hijacker" of the

September 11, 2001, attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

, was arrested after an instructor at Pan Am International Flight Academy became suspicious of him. In a piece in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Michael Erlandson, chief of staff on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation is quoted as saying: "The Pan Am people are heroes who worked very diligently to make themselves heard at the FBI."

Television and film

Because of their flight simulators and professional aviators, the Pan Am International Flight Academy is often approached to allow usage of their equipment and experts to TV shows and

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

.Final Approach (movie) interview in PAIFA Las Vegas
/ref> In addition to its

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

, Pan Am has facilities in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

, Kissimmee,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and is currently providing training to clients in Asia and Europe through participating partners.

References

External links

* {{All Nippon Airways, state=collapsed Pan Am Aviation schools in Florida Organizations based in Miami Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Educational institutions established in 1991 All Nippon Airways 1991 establishments in Florida American subsidiaries of foreign companies 2013 mergers and acquisitions