As it gets ready to resume and run new routes with the restoration of international travel, Qantas announced that it is establishing a multimillion-dollar, purpose-built flight crew training facility in Sydney.
The Australian airline announced that starting in early 2024, up to 4,500 new and existing Qantas and Jetstar pilots and cabin personnel will get training at the flight training facility in St. Peters, close to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD).
In early 2022, Qantas opened its most recent pilot training center using simulators at Brisbane Airport. The announcement occurred seven months later.
Up to eight full motion flight simulators, including those for the Airbus A350 and A320 family of aircraft, can be housed at the Sydney flight training facility, according to Qantas.
A mock-up of an airplane cabin, fixed flight training devices, emergency procedures equipment, and training facilities are also included in the facility.
Planning clearances are required for the facility development, and property group LOGOS has filed a submission on their behalf. They will build the center in collaboration with global training provider CAE and Qantas. This proposal has been designated as state significant by the New South Wales government, which will hasten the evaluation process.
“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,” Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement dated August 17, 2022.
“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,” Joyce added.
Joyce continued: “As our international network recovers from the impact of COVID and we grow our fleet, this new training center will give us the simulator capacity to train our new and current pilots.”
