New Jobs Land at Manston Airport
A Thanet engineering company is going on a recruitment drive after securing a major national contract.
Avman, the aircraft engineering company, based at Manston Airport near Ramsgate, has signed a three-year contract with Falko, the leading UK aircraft asset management company, for the storage, care and maintenance of up to six Avro RJ regional jet aircraft each year.
As a result Avman will be recruiting up to eight more engineers at the airport to add to its workforce operating at Manston.
Charles Buchanan, Chief Executive of Manston Airport, said: “This is great news for both the team at Avman and the airport. It shows that the airport has an important role to play in terms of supporting highly skilled engineering jobs in the area, as well as handling passenger and freight flights.”
The Falko aircraft will be stored and then, when required, made ready for a return to service on behalf of Falko and the new operators. This may also open up an opportunity of further base maintenance work on the aircraft should the new operator choose to bring the aircraft back to Avman for routine inspections after delivery.
Chris Wilson, Managing Director of Avman, said: “This is a vote of confidence in the skills of the workforce in Thanet. We are hopeful that we can fill as many as possible of these posts from people who live in the local area.
“The management team at Manston were very helpful and supportive when we were trying to secure this contract and gave us a beneficial parking rate to help offset the cost of storage for the aircraft.”
Ian Dear, Vice President Technical Operations at Falko, commented: “Manston Airport offers us ideal facilities to store our aircraft while we find new operators. With Avman approved to maintain the Avro RJ, it also allows us to prepare and deliver the aircraft to our customers from one location. By working together with the airport Avman were able to provide Falko with a competitive price which led to this contract being awarded”.