Air Niugini will send its engineering cadets to Cairns for two years of on-the-job training as part of a new partnership with Hawker Pacific and Aviation Australia.
The new initiative, due to be launched on Friday, has Air Niugini engineering cadets working out of Hawker Pacific’s maintenance facility at Cairns Airport and receiving training from Aviation Australia instructors.
Hawker Pacific vice president Jason Burzacott said the joint venture with Aviation Australia would offer a quality engineering platform for Air Niugini.
“Hawker Pacific is proud of the quality and dedication of its engineering staff and we believe that it is this level of experience, professionalism and dedication to developing individuals that will set this world class training program apart,” Burzacott said in a statement on Thursday.
Aviation Australia, a training company established by the Queensland government in 2001, held both Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 147 approvals.
“This joint venture is a world class project and the benefits to the aviation industries in both countries as well as the economic benefit to Cairns cannot be understated,” said Chris Pigott, the business manager for Aviation Australia’s Cairns Aviation Skills Centre.
Cairns Chamber of Commerce president Sam Marino also welcomed the multi million dollar contract and noted the strong and ensuring friendship between the city and its closest international neighbour Papua New Guinea.
