Qantas unveils new $100m flight training site
Qantas is opening a multimillion-dollar purpose-built pilot training centre in Sydney’s south, as it gears up to run a range of new routes and aircraft to meet the renewed appetite for global travel.
The national carrier, along with the broader aviation industry, has been weighed down by staff shortages and flight disruptions, and Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the new training facility in Sydney would ensure the company’s high training standards remain in place.
“Qantas has trained its pilots and crew in Sydney for more than half a century, and we look forward to bringing this critical function back to New South Wales with this custom-built facility,” Joyce said in a prepared statement.
“Sydney will be the launch city for our non-stop flights to London and New York, and will now be the home of pilot training for the A350s, which will operate these flights from 2025.”
The training facility, at St Peters, will offer simulators for the new fleet of aircraft including for the long-haul flights announced in the carrier’s recent Project Sunrise. The centre will also have mock-up cabins, emergency procedure equipments and classrooms.
Upon completion, the facility will alleviate the need for Sydney-based pilots to travel interstate for training. Qantas relocated its simulators from Sydney to Melbourne and Brisbane in 2021.
Senior Qantas and Jetstar training captains will train pilots from the two airlines, while global training provider CAE will maintain the simulators and manage the day-to-day operations of the centre as part of a long-term partnership.
CAE, which will enter into a 20-year lease for the site, may also provide training for other airlines in the region at the facility.
Industrial property giant LOGOS bought the 7,946 square metre site to develop the specialised facility, which is said to have an end value of around $100 million. It is adjacent to the 13.8 hectares of land that LOGOS acquired from Qantas in October 2021 for $802 million.
The centre will have mock-up cabins, emergency procedure equipments and classrooms and will alleviate the need for the Sydney-based pilots that have had to travel interstate for training after Qantas relocated simulators from Sydney to Melbourne and Brisbane in 2021.
LOGOS head of Australia & New Zealand, Darren Searle said the property is located within a “premium industrial precinct on the doorstep of Sydney airport”.
“This development provides the ideal location for Qantas’ new training centre, and the long-term commitment provided by CAE reflects the unprecedented level of demand for industrial land stocks that we’re currently seeing,” Searle said.
“This is particularly so in South Sydney given its proximity to Australia’s two main international gateways, the Port of Botany and Sydney Airport.”
The development is subject to planning approvals. The transaction was introduced by Michael Crombie of Colliers.
The New South Wales Minister for Planning and Minister for Homes, Anthony Roberts, said the NSW Government is a proud supporter of Australia’s aviation industry and the proposal has been declared as “State Significant, in recognition of its potential widespread economic benefits and importance to the aviation industry”.
Searle added that the centre will be focused on being sustainable with Green Star Certifications, including indoor air quality, energy generation and efficiency, and water use. Construction is scheduled to commence in December 2022, with the facility expected to be operational by early 2024.
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