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 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 equipment 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.