Airways International’s air traffic services training programme is for those people wanting to become air traffic controllers or flight service officers. We go through a robust selection process looking for potential trainees with the ability to visualise and react to situations in the right kind of way.
We’re seeking individuals who are:
Find out more below about flight service training with Airways International, and to learn about the role of a flight service officer with Airways New Zealand.
Marshall Jacket, Aerodrome Flight Service Officer
Flight service officers play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and efficiency of aviation in New Zealand. They provide essential information and support to pilots, helping to guide aircraft safely through the skies.
Their expertise in managing air traffic in non-controlled environments is vital, particularly in remote or busy regions where their guidance helps ensure that every flight reaches its destination safely.
Flight service officers work in one of Airways New Zealand’s two flight service aerodromes in Paraparaumu and Milford Sound, or in one of their two surveillance centres in Auckland and Christchurch.
In New Zealand, flight service officers provide air-ground, aerodrome, and area-flight information services.
Air-ground
Air-ground is based in the surveillance centre in Auckland. These services ensure adequate communications and information are provided to all flights operating within the South Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea.
Aerodrome
Aerodrome flight information services, based at Paraparaumu and Milford Sound aerodromes, provide pilots with information to help them safely operate in and around these aerodromes.
Area-flight
Area flight information services operate from the surveillance centre in Christchurch. They utilise surveillance to provide traffic information to pilots, as well as providing an alerting service, weather and aeronautical information.
Area flight information also involves the National Briefing Office, which is responsible for accepting and processing domestic and international flight plans, alongside flight planning on behalf of Pago Pago, Samoa, Tonga, and the Cook Islands.
After completing a period of consolidation carrying out area flight information duties, you will undergo training for the positions of NOTAM Officer and AFTN Supervisor.
If you are selected to join our air traffic services training programme as a flight service student, you will spend the first four weeks of training doing online, self-directed learning. You will then undertake six weeks of theoretical academy training in Christchurch.
After successful completion of academy training in Christchurch, flight service students will earn a New Zealand Certificate in Air Traffic Services (Level 5) and may be offered a role with Airways New Zealand as a flight service trainee, subject to pre-employment processes.
As a flight service trainee, you will then commence on-job training for four to nine months. On-job training will either be at Airways New Zealand’s Paraparaumu or Milford Sound aerodromes, or in one of their surveillance centres in Christchurch or Auckland. Whilst Airways New Zealand considers your preferences, you must have the ability to be flexible and be able to relocate within New Zealand.
Upon completion of on-job training and successfully undertaking a final proficiency assessment (FPA), you’ll then be issued with a New Zealand Civil Aviation Flight Service licence and rating.
