TAMWORTH is making all the right moves to position itself as an aviation hot spot.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Our local council should be applauded for thinking outside the box in its latest bid to bring QantasLink’s $20-million pilot academy to the city.
Tamworth Regional Council is considering upgrading QantasLink’s maintenance hangar as it brainstorms ideas to put the city at the forefront of the nation-wide race for the facility.
It’s the latest vision Tamworth council has for its airport. Mayor Col Murray has been a vocal supporter of eventually bringing international frieght to Tamworht auoirt.
The idea is to create a larger maintenance facility for Qantas by increasing their maintenance lines from two to three.
While there’s no guarantee a potential upgrade will secure the city with the pilot training academy, it’s still a giant leap in the right direction in positioning the city as a major freight hub.
It’s a solution to a possible problem down the track – it’s not solely about winning the bid.
This particular project is part of a bigger plan.
We already have an amazing aviation maintenance industry that has been descried as a hidden gem.
In May last year, QantasLink ramped up its maintenance sector at Tamworth Airport, with 25 new jobs to meet the number of additional aircraft that need to be serviced after the regional airline landed a big contract.
That was set to grow over the next 18 months, with a second hangar to service another 17 aircraft, including five Jetstar planes being used in the airline’s New Zealand’s regional network.
Add to that mounting calls for Tamworth to secure international air freight and you’ve got a pretty hard case to beat.
To be able to secure the academy would be a huge boon for us.
It would mean 800 pilots being trained here, as well as the potential for more people to be fixing planes at the facility too.
Qantas has only ever declared the school will go to a regional area somewhere in the country. But given our many runs already on the board, it’d be hard to top Tamworth as an ideal training ground.
It’s pleasing to see the decision makers are leaving no stone unturned in convincing the state government that Tamworth is the “only real choice” for the $20-million facility.
