Chevron Aircraft Maintenance, based in Manchester, in England, has announced plans to invest £8.5m (US$10.6m) in a new center of excellence at Glasgow Prestwick Airport in Scotland.
With a focus on engineering, maintenance and training, it is thought that the move will create 82 jobs. The existing facilities are currently being prepared, and the first aircraft will be accepted in January 2017.
A grant from Scottish Enterprise of £2m (US$2.4m) has been donated to help with the project, with Chevron signing a 10-year lease. The center will incorporate a hangar, a bespoke teardown/parts processing facility, parking area and management offices totaling 150,000ft². Aircraft up to B747 size will be maintained at the site.
Neil Morris, managing director of Chevron, said, “The airport is in an excellent location at the midway point of the Great Circle Route, making it a convenient stop-off point for the many aircraft that have existing flight planning over the airport.
“The facility will enable the Chevron group to handle a large range of aircraft, and we hope that we can offer additional benefits to Glasgow Prestwick’s existing customer base across passenger, cargo, military, executive and general aviation, including training.”
Ron Smith, CEO of Glasgow Prestwick Airport, added, “Chevron will bring in additional revenue for us through this lease, but we also hope that this will provide us with an additional selling point for passenger and cargo airlines, and other aviation customers, to operate services to and from Glasgow Prestwick Airport.”
