OREANDA-NEWS. April 10, 2015. QantasLink today announced that it will create a Boeing 717 heavy maintenance base in Canberra, generating up to 40 highly skilled engineering roles in the nation’s capital.

QantasLink Chief Executive Officer John Gissing was joined by the ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr to make the announcement at QantasLink’s Boeing 717 engineering facility.

“From October, Canberra will be at the heart of our Boeing 717 engineering operations, which will complement our increased flying out of Canberra with this aircraft type and allow us to better utilise our existing assets at Canberra Airport,” Mr Gissing said.

“This is an investment in new jobs and technical capabilities at Canberra Airport and builds on our strong commitment of over 260 Qantas Group employees in the ACT.”

“I’d also like to thank the ACT government and the Chief Minister Andrew Barr for their commitment to this engineering facility, which will see Canberra become the home of QantasLink’s Boeing 717 heavy maintenance base.

Heavy maintenance checks are detailed checks of the aircraft, performed every two years on the Boeing 717. On average, it takes around 28 days and 5500 man hours for a Boeing 717 to have a heavy maintenance check.

This is in addition to line maintenance checks, which are basic checks that are done every few days, and currently performed in ports across Australia, including Canberra.  QantasLink has 18 B717s in its fleet.

QantasLink conducts heavy maintenance on its Q400, Q300 and Q200 at its heavy maintenance facility in Tamworth.

The Qantas Group employs more than 4,000 engineers and maintenance staff across Australia.

Qantas operates over 230 return flights a week from Canberra to cities around the country including, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane Perth and Adelaide.