Dubbo’s bid to become the home of a new $20 million Qantas pilot academy is about to grow wings.
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Dubbo Regional Council has been working on a battle plan to entice the airline to choose the city.
The council began pursuing the proposed facility in February after Qantas announced it would establish a training base in a regional area in 2019 to train up to 500 pilots.
On Thursday a council spokesperson confirmed a submission would be lodged by the Friday deadline.
Qantas’s announcement sparked a wave of interest among regional councils across Australia.
Dubbo council has amped up its bid with help from the state government.
“The NSW state government regional office of the Department of Premier and Cabinet have assisted councils to correlate NSW bids to this point, of which Dubbo’s done well,” Dubbo MP Troy Grant said on Thursday.
“There are more stages to follow which will be dictated by Qantas and outlined and we will continue our support through the ongoing processes, so stand by.”
A Department of Premier and Cabinet spokesperson said: “The Qantas Group Pilot Academy presents a fantastic opportunity for NSW and we will be writing to Qantas to promote the benefits of locating the academy in NSW.”
“The NSW government will support any successful application from regional NSW.”
Meanwhile Dubbo mayor Ben Shields has appeared in a video posted to social media this week to promote the city’s case to host the pilot academy.
He was on site at the Dubbo City Regional Airport, a council facility, with some pint-sized potential aviators of the future, making the pitch to Qantas.
“Just imagine this Alan Joyce… A major regional airport on the rise,” Cr Shields said in the post accompanying the video on Facebook.
“Technical connectivity rivalling any metro centre.
“Room to live, work and grow. 8. Minute. Commute.
“No wonder we are a city of over 40,000 smiles.
“The future faces of QANTAS are waiting for the doors to open here in Dubbo.
“Dubbo is the right choice, Alan Joyce.”
Dubbo will likely face strong competition with Tamworth and a number of other regional councils indicating earlier this year interest in making a bid.