Fibre for British airmen initially flying in Africa (6)
I believe the answer is:
raffia
'fibre' is the definition.
(I know that raffia is a type of plant fiber)
'british airmen initially flying in africa' is the wordplay.
'british airmen' becomes 'RAF' (Royal Air Force).
'initially' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letters of 'flying in africa' is 'fia'.
'raf'+'fia'='RAFFIA'
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for raffia that I've seen before include "Plant fibre used in weaving" , "Fibre used for weaving mats, baskets, etc" , "grass" , "that's seen at evening classes" , "Fibre for tying and weaving" .)