Every career in aviation reaches turning points. New responsibilities land on your desk. The decisions get bigger. At some point, many professionals arrive at the quiet realization that deeper knowledge would give them greater influence, and that what they know is no longer enough to match what they are being asked to do. Some stay within the boundaries of what is familiar. Others choose to build the kind of understanding that lets them shape the future of their organization.
Jonathan at Indianapolis Airport Authority, Housseny at Blaise Diagne International Airport, and Lyat at Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority each reached one of those turning points. They wanted a broader view of airport activity, a stronger voice in their teams, and the confidence that comes from recognized, structured industry learning. Each of them found a pathway through the Klayo course catalogue, and each is now writing the next chapter of their aviation story.
Jonathan: Building a Career in Airports Without Prior Aviation Experience
General Counsel, Indianapolis Airport Authority
When Jonathan joined Indianapolis Airport Authority, he had no previous experience in aviation. After about a year in the role, he noticed that most of the contracts and decisions coming through his office were connected in some way to airport operations, areas where he had little formal grounding. That gap mattered, and he decided to close it.
He enrolled in the U.S. Airport Professional Program, which gave him a structured and clear overview of how airports in the United States operate. The program covers airside and landside operations, safety, regulation, business management, governance, and planning, giving him essentially the full picture of what makes an airport function.
After completing the program, Jonathan now sees the airport as a complex ecosystem with many connected parts. That perspective has changed how he contributes. He is better equipped to engage in strategic, operational, and business conversations at a level that simply was not possible before he had that structured foundation.
Housseny: Contributing More Effectively Across the Organization
Revenues Aeronautical Manager, Blaise Diagne International Airport
Housseny's motivation was clear from the start: he wanted to understand airport operations well enough to identify opportunities to improve both performance and revenue at his airport. He enrolled in the Diploma in Airport Operations to build that foundation.
What he gained went beyond revenue analysis. The program gave him a more holistic view of the airport, which in turn changed how he worked with colleagues across different departments. He was no longer limited to his own function and could engage meaningfully with conversations happening in other parts of the operation.
He also noted that, in addition to refining his approach to revenue optimization and commercial project design, the course helped him engage more effectively in the airport's safety and quality system evaluations, areas that sit well outside a typical revenue role but that matter deeply to overall airport performance.
Lyat: Strengthening Foundation Through Formal Training
Aerodromes Safety Standards Manager, Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority (Freetown International Airport)
Lyat brings more than a decade of experience in civil aviation safety, engineering, operations, construction, and maintenance. With that depth of practical knowledge already behind her, she was not looking for a course to fill a basic gap. She was looking for something that would formalize and reinforce what she had built through years of hands-on work.
She chose the Diploma in Airport Operations and described it as all-encompassing, a program that touches every critical aspect of airport operations. For someone at her level, that breadth was exactly what she needed. The structured format gave her a recognized credential to anchor her experience and a clearer framework for applying it.
Writing Your Own Next Chapter
Jonathan, Housseny, and Lyat come from different functions in legal, commercial, and safety, but their experiences point to the same thing. When aviation professionals invest in structured learning, the returns go well beyond the subject matter covered. They become more capable contributors, more confident collaborators, and more effective advocates for the organizations they serve.
The industry's best professionals are rarely those who simply accumulate years on the job. They are the ones who take deliberate steps to deepen their understanding, formalize their expertise, and build the kind of cross-functional perspective that makes them genuinely valuable at any level of an organization.
If you work in aviation and want to broaden your understanding of airport operations, strengthen your contribution across functions, or take your career to the next stage, explore our full catalogue of ACI-accredited courses. Your next chapter is ready when you are.