Presently, AFA has its own facilities inside Sintra Air Base (Air Base 1) area at Granja do Marquês. It started its activity though, on 1 February 1978, in temporary facilities and only students that were then attending the third year of the Military Aeronautics degree course were taken in. As its own facilities were built it became possible to expand the educational range of the Academy to cover other areas of interest. Thus, in response to the real needs of the Air Force, in the school year of 1991/92 other degrees were created: aeronautical engineering, airfield engineering; electrical engineering, computer engineering and aeronautical administration. In order to get these degrees, students have to attend other higher education institutions for the final years of each course.