What the APPI association is, and how paragliding qualifications work in Spain: federations, Sports Technician titles and tandem flights.
If you have become interested in learning to paraglide, you may have seen the acronym APPI. Here is what it means and how qualifications work in Spain.
What is APPI?
APPI stands for Association of Paragliding Pilots and Instructors. It is an international association that defines training standards and levels for pilots and instructors, and its courses are taught in many countries.
How are paragliding qualifications regulated in Spain?
In Spain, sports training is regulated by law. The official qualification for teaching and working professionally is Sports Technician in paragliding, and pilot licences are managed through the sports federations — in the Canary Islands, FECDA, together with the Spanish federation FAE.
International certificates can be useful abroad, but they are not always equivalent to the Spanish official qualification. If you want to fly professionally in Spain, check with the federation before you start a course.
And our pilots?
All our tandem pilots are qualified Sports Technicians certified by FECDA and FAE.
Want to try before you learn?
A tandem flight is the best first step: you feel what flying is like with a professional pilot, without any training.
