Australia’s Alliance Airlines has opened a brand-new $60 million maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at Rockhampton Airport, Queensland, Australia in an attempt to bring the MRO capabilities in-house. Earlier, Alliance Airlines used to offshore the maintenance of its fleet relying on Jet Aviation’s maintenance facility in Cairns, northern Queensland, apart from sending maintenance work overseas to Fokker Services Asia in Singapore, Austrian Airlines Technik in Slovakia and COOPESA in Costa Rica.
Commenting on the significant milestone, Alliance Airlines Managing Director, Scott McMillan said “The new Maintenance and Repair facility means we have been able to bring our maintenance activities from overseas back to our home soil in Queensland,” said Scott McMillan, Managing Director, Alliance Airlines. “Alliance Airlines sees Rockhampton as a key hub for our operations, and this facility solidifies our long-term commitment to the region. We are absolutely confident that this significant investment in aviation will attract other industry participants to invest here in Rockhampton.”
The maintenance hangar is designed to have a low carbon footprint because it has a 100kW solar system and 500kl water tanks for storing water collected from the rooftop.
MRO Employment opportunities in Queensland
The opening of this three-bay hangar MRO facility has thrown open a raft of employment opportunities in Queensland, with about 100 highly skilled aviation jobs especially engineering and maintenance along with 16 openings of new traineeships and apprenticeships creating new career paths for young job seekers across Central Queensland, by 2024. The construction of this facility supported around 115 construction workers.
According to Madeleine King, minister for resources and minister for Northern Australia, Alliance Airlines’ maintenance facility will provide valuable jobs and investment for the Rockhampton economy.
“The project has already created jobs during its construction phase and is set to support an additional 100 ongoing jobs in the region. “This will be game-changing for Rockhampton, and is yet another example of how the NAIF is working to advance Queensland’s economy,” minister King added.
Assistant Minister for Regional Development, Senator Anthony Chisholm added that the project has played a pivotal role in bolstering the confidence of businesses in the region to expand their capabilities and services.
“As well as delivering local jobs and bringing millions of dollars of investment to the Rocky economy, this new facility will make a real difference for the local aviation industry and the critical services and businesses it supports,” Senator Chisholm said.
Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick said this is a great day for Queensland, landing aviation jobs, skills and development on home soil.
Apart from new recruitments the facility will also aid in building a strong MRO ecosystem in Queensland by supporting many third-party suppliers for services like for avionics, aerospace technologies, wheels, tyres, brakes and landing gear, engine maintenance, interiors and upholstery, cabin accessories and much more.
Mayor of Rockhampton Regional Council, Tony Williams summed up saying this is a significant milestone for our region and one that will help drive future jobs and opportunities.
“They are currently on a recruiting drive, looking to fill a further 11 positions and five of those are apprentices. This is a great result for Rocky as the company plans to employ about 100 highly skilled operations workers including at least 16 trainees and apprentices when it is fully operational in 2024. We know that we need to secure new jobs and industries going forward and this initiative does exactly that,” Mayor Williams added.
“Locals will now have that opportunity to train and work in the aviation maintenance industry and to see the benefit of those jobs. This not only delivers for residents today but sets us up for the future,” Mayor Williams concluded.
Investments –
The MRO facility is backed by investments from government as well as private players in Australia. The facility is supported through a $21 million Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility loan. A further $25 million contribution was made by the Australian Government, along with $2 million from the council, to fund upgrades to the existing airport infrastructure in order to support the Alliance facility, taking the total precinct investment figure to around $87 million.
Construction of the new MRO facility was also backed by the Queensland Government’s $175 million Jobs and Regional Growth Fund to ensure Alliance can maintain its growing aircraft fleet in Queensland.
Madeleine King said that the new facility is anticipated to inject $30 million into the local Rockhampton economy each year, with the three-bay hangar servicing the airline’s fleet of over 70 aircraft.
“Investing in this type of project is essential to help our regions grow by attracting investment and creating employment opportunities. Economic modelling shows that this facility is expected to directly boost the Queensland economy by almost $195 million over the next 10 years,” Treasurer Dick added.
“Facilities such as these are a catalyst for further regional development by attracting specialty high value freight and logistics suppliers and a range of aeronautical support companies to the region. The commitment of Alliance to Rockhampton shows that Queensland has the capabilities to enhance their operations and further consolidates our growing reputation in the multi-billion-dollar global aviation industry,” concluded Treasurer Dick.
This project serves a fine example of all three levels of government and the private sector working together to deliver for regional Queensland.
Queensland MRO industry forecast
According to the Department of treasury, Queensland, the MRO industry valued at $565 million and supports approximately 4,200 jobs. Over the next decade it is predicted global aircraft engine MRO will become a US $474 billion growth area.
Alliance Airlines MRO capabilities
Alliance Airlines has two maintenance facilities in Brisbane, one of which is Unity Aviation Maintenance (UAM), that it acquired in late 2020 from Australian logistics and transportation conglomerate Toll Holdings. The two facilities are adjacent to each other at the airport, so Alliance says it has merged the two organisations.
Alliance Airlines AMO is approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to provide maintenance services under the CASR Part 145 regulatory framework and valid Part 145 approval under PNG CASA. The AMO also has approved Workshop capability focusing on Fokker specific avionics and air frame components that ensure Alliance Airline’s ability to respond effectively to meeting the requirements of the aircraft operator.
Whether it’s operating in South East Asia or the harsh Australian outback, the Alliance Airlines AMO prides itself on safety, reliability and operational performance.
Airline fleet
The Alliance Airlines fleet is composed of three different Fokker aircraft, Fokker 70 LR jet and Fokker 100 jet and Embraer 190. The airline claims that its fleet has a strong reputation for being reliable and efficient aircraft with an extensive history of operating in remote and hot regions throughout Australia.
Headquartered in Brisbane, Alliance Airlines provides dedicated contract, charter and aviation services to support mining, energy, tourism and government sectors with its fleet of Fokker and Embraer aircraft.
The company also operates flights on behalf of most of Australia’s largest airlines across all mainland Australian states and territories, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.
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The state government has identified MRO services as a key growth opportunity for Queensland as outlined in the Queensland Aerospace 10-Year Roadmap and Action Plan. The government of Australia has committed itself to continue to maximise opportunities to support the MRO industry.
