Before merging in 2011, the Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile (ENAC) and the Service d'Exploitation de la Formation Aéronautique (SEFA) each had a major impact on the history of French aeronautics. Today, ENAC is a key player in the aeronautical industry in Europe and around the world.
ENAC
After the Second World War, France was faced with a veritable explosion in air transport. Technological advances made it possible to carry more passengers, more safely and further. However, safe air transport requires high-quality managers and staff. It also requires harmonisation of the different sectors of the aviation world and, consequently, a better mutual understanding of those who work in each of these sectors.
These were the motivations of the founders of ENAC. Foremost among them was Max Hymans, then Secretary General of Civil and Commercial Aviation (SGACC).
His idea was simple: air transport is a whole, requiring close coordination between its parts. And what better way to assert the interdependence of the aviation professions than through training? ENAC will be that school.
Life at ENAC Orly
As early as 1948, but officially from the summer of 1949, ENAC moved to Orly airport, at the heart of an activity that is essential to air transport: the airport. Close to the runways, the students saw planes take off and land, and were immediately placed at the heart of their future field of activity. Although the site was announced as temporary, it was to last for almost 20 years.
1969 ENAC sees life as rosy
It was at the very end of the 60s that ENAC underwent major changes. Cramped into premises that had become outdated and unsuitable, on the edge of an airport that had seen its traffic explode, ENAC had to find a new environment in which to flourish.
Several projects were envisaged, but in the end, the decentralisation policy in force at the time was enough to keep ENAC in Paris. From now on, Toulouse will be the home of the French civil aviation school.
A city that saw the pioneers of l’Aéropostale take off – quite a symbol!
In September 1968, ENAC inaugurated its brand new facilities at the heart of the Rangueil scientific campus, close to the Paul Sabatier scientific university, the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and numerous CNRS laboratories.
Toulouse provided ENAC with a particularly suitable aeronautical and scientific environment.
On 1 January 2011, the Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile(ENAC) and the Service d’Exploitation de la Formation Aéronautique(SEFA) merged.