Captain Suleiman Hamud is the co-founder and CEO of Skylink Flying School, located at Wilson Airport in Nairobi County.
He has led the institution to become one of Kenya’s best aviation training centers.
Hamud founded the school in 2010 at the age of 24, alongside his colleagues pilots Dilipkumar Kerai and David Sipoche, who were 29 and 31 years old, respectively.
Throughout high school, he developed an interest in aviation. He began his flying career with unrelenting perseverance and the backing of his parents.
Hamud’s mother sold her automobile to pay for his Private Pilot License (PPL) at CMC Aviation (now DAC Aviation) in Nairobi.
Despite being admitted into the academic of Nairobi to pursue a Bachelor of Commerce degree, his desire to get a commercial pilot license drove him to abandon his academic studies.
Hamud worked hard and saved a lot of money, which allowed him to pay for both his degree and his commercial pilot license. He graduated in 2008.
He rose through the ranks of CMC Aviation, becoming chief ground instructor and then deputy chief flight instructor.
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Hamud, Kerai and Sipoche identified a market need for aviation training and pooled their resources to open their flying school in 2010. They invested Ksh 25 million, with Ksh 15 million from their savings and Ksh 10 million from a bank loan.
Their objective was to deliver quality flight instruction at cheap prices, making aviation jobs more accessible to a wider range of prospective pilots.
Skylink’s training programs, including as the Private Pilot License (PPL) and private commercial licenses, cost Ksh 650,000 and Ksh 2.4 million, respectively, with practical flying lessons costing approximately Ksh 15,300 per hour.
Despite the constraints posed by high aviation fuel taxes and operational costs, Hamud remains hopeful about the aviation sector’s future potential in Kenya and Africa.
Skylink has grown its fleet from one to over ten aircraft since its inception, attracting students not just from Kenya but also from Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Looking ahead, Hamud foresee Skylink expanding into regional markets where there is a rising demand for high-quality flying instruction.
Skylink continues to empower prospective pilots and contribute to the regional aviation industry’s development by breaking the notion that aviation careers are only available to a select few.
