Virgin Australia Regional (VA, Perth International) will lease an AUD35 million Australian dollar (USD23.5 million) maintenance hangar soon to be constructed at Perth Airport as part of an AUD80 million (USD53.7 million) spend by the airport to cater for an anticipated growth in regional aviation.
VARA Executive General Manager Nathan Miller said the airline had agreed to lease the new maintenance hangar and apron facility which will allow VARA to consolidate its warehouse, storage, and engineering and maintenance office facilities in the one location. Construction is scheduled to be completed by September 2024.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, VARA operates a fleet of seven A320-200s and ten F100s out of Perth. It primarily caters to the mining and resources industry, operating contracted charters to remote locations to move workers on and off sites. Known as fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) operations, the charters provide a lucrative revenue stream for local airlines and cater to the approximately 60,000 FIFO workers in Western Australia. Airlines typically operate their FIFO flights at arms length from their regular scheduled passenger operations and often via subsidiaries.
“Growth in FIFO and regional passenger movements over the past three years made it timely to invest in new capacity and facilities," said Perth Airport Acting Chief Executive Officer, Kate Holsgrove. The remaining AUD45 million (USD30.2 million) will be spent developing the aviation support precinct near the existing Terminal 2.
“This area will be reserved for operations that require airside access and apron areas for aeronautical operations, including hangarage, ground support providers, flight catering and airfreight logistics,” said Holsgrove. “This provides another opportunity for airlines to grow their business in Perth."
In comments accompanying news of the VARA lease agreement, Miller said Western Australia was an important hub for both VARA and its parent entity, Virgin Australia International (VA, Brisbane International), adding that the amount of resources deployed to the state and amount of contract flying there would increase in the future. He also said current B737-700s in the Virgin Australia fleet would transfer to VARA as the F100s are gradually phased out.
