ORANGE City Council has failed in its bid to have a lucrative commercial pilot training housed at Orange Regional Airport.
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Qantas on Friday announced the nine regional cities shortlisted to be the home of its pilot academy, which is due to open its doors in 2019 and train up to 500 pilot per year when fully operational.
More than 60 regional cities nationwide lodged applications, with Alice Springs, Bendigo, Busselton in Western Australia, Dubbo, Launceston, Mackay, Tamworth, Toowoomba and Wagga Wagga still in the running after Friday’s announcement.
Qantas’s statement said these centres were best suited to the academy’s primary criteria: adequate runway, hangars for up to 50 aircraft, weather conditions suitable for flying at least 300 days a year, controlled and uncontrolled airspace, hi-tech student classrooms with facilities for flight training simulators and student accommodation.
From ideas around scholarships to a community photo shoot in Mackay and a video message from the children of Dubbo, we’ve been really impressed with the quality of responses and the level of support on offer.
- Qantas Pilot Academy’s executive manager Wes Nobelius
On May 20, Orange mayor Reg Kidd spoke to the Central Western Daily about Orange’s chances of winning the right to house the facility.
“We’ve got all of that stuff,” he said of the criteria.
The academy’s management team will visit the nine cities in coming weeks and meet with community leaders, suppliers and airport operators to further evaluate the feasibility of each location.
A final decision on the academy’s location is expected to be made in the third quarter of this year.
Qantas Pilot Academy’s executive manager Wes Nobelius said there were some “outstanding proposals”, paying special mention of Dubbo in the announcement.
VIDEO: Dubbo Regional Council’s application video ...
“From ideas around scholarships to a community photo shoot in Mackay and a video message from the children of Dubbo, we’ve been really impressed with the quality of responses and the level of support on offer,” Mr Nobelius said.
“Narrowing down the possible locations from more than 60 to just nine wasn’t easy. It will be harder still to whittle this down to just one.”
More than 14,000 aspiring pilots have so far registered their interest in the academy.